Teacher, Tutor, Boyfriend
by TeenWolf136
Summary: When her father gets a high-class job in New York, Aurora Prince is forced to move from her life in Portland to the elite suburbs of NYC. There, she attends Hillbrook Crest, filled with rich, spoilt students that have never known anything but luxury. However, her Economics teacher, Mr Barnes, is something else entirely. They quickly become enthralled in a dangerous relationship.
1. Hello, New York!

_Hello, New York!_

A/N: Hey guys! Here I am, back with another Bucky/OC fanfic because I'm Bucky trash. Don't worry, I'll still be updating 'Stay' really regularly, I'll just have this going too.

So: I'm really excited to get this up, but first a few little things.

Full Summary:

 _The wealthy, Upper-class teenagers of New York City attend the elite, affluent school of Hillbrook Crest. Aurora Prince moved from Portland with her parents for her father to take up a position that will make them millionaires. At her old school she was a queen, a doyenne, but at Hillbrook Crest she is just the new girl fighting to achieve high grades with the ridiculous academic standards of HC. There is one thing that makes it worth it though - the teachers are stunning. One, in particular._

 _New York is a beautiful, audacious city, but Mr Barnes is by far the most intriguing thing that Aurora discovers there._

This is obviously Bucky/OC. All human AU. Includes various other MCU characters. **Bucky is 24 years old in this!**

 **WARNING:** please be aware of the teacher/student nature of the relationship and read at your own risk. Please don't comment mean things saying 'it's so wrong' blah blah. I am fully aware that it is wrong and in no way, shape or form am I endorsing relationships like this in real life. It's a story.

Now, onto the first chapter! Enjoy.

~O~

Navy blue was, at least, a colour Aurora Prince could definitely pull off. But the pleated skirt? The white button up shirt and tie? And don't even get her started on the hideous leather shoes. Even _she_ couldn't make that ugly of an outfit work. (Seriously - why were girls expected to wear ties?)

"It's an affront to fashion," Aurora complained, staring in distaste at the uniform she would be required to wear for the next year.

Her father didn't even look up from where he was setting up his laptop at their new dining room table. Her mother at least acknowledged her with a sigh, slipping the pearl necklace off that was adorning her throat. "Stop complaining. Everyone else will be wearing it, so it shouldn't matter," her mother pointed out. "Although, it is an ugly thing. You'll just have to wear your very best clothes outside of school to make up for it."

Aurora gritted her teeth and turned away from the monstrous uniform, walking a few steps forward to look out of the large, glass panelled window that stretched along half of the wall. The new penthouse was at least nice, with a view over New York City that was to die for. Her room was large and spacious, with a big enough walk in wardrobe to store all of her clothes and shoes, plus more space to do a little therapy shopping.

But none of that really mattered to Aurora. She didn't care how beautiful the penthouse was, or how prestigious her new school was, or how high of a promotion her father had gotten to necessitate such a move to New York. She didn't care about any of that. She just wanted to go home. But Portland didn't feel like just a 6 hour flight away, it felt like a lifetime ago already. Her friends, her old school, her cheerleading squad. The memories, although seared into her brain, somehow already felt faded, worn.

 _One year,_ she thought wistfully, as she was starting her senior year along with the rest of the cohort tomorrow. _One year of schooling and then I turn 18 and then I can move out. Go to college and make my own life._

But for a 17 year old girl, a year seemed like forever.

~O~

Hillbrook Crest was beautiful and sprawling, an old establishment designed to raise proud and educated young girls and boys from wealthy backgrounds. Its student body was not in the least bit diverse. It had one, single breed of teenagers; affluent, opulent, with parents who had holiday houses in the Hamptons and Puerto Rico. The students' parents were rich. And their grandparents, and their great grandparents and so on. Their children would always live luxurious lives and their grand-children would as well.

Aurora was in some ways, she supposed, the irregularity. Her mother had been born dirt poor and although Aurora knew nothing about her mother's parents, she assumed that they had not been exactly star guardians - they were immigrants, from Brazil, and Aurora had never met them. Her grandparents on her father's side had lived on a farm in rural Oregon and whilst they had never been poor, they hadn't had a lot of money to flaunt either. Her father had worked his way up and up, and by the time Aurora had been born, her mother and father were more than well off. Despite this, in Portland she'd still always gone to a public school. She hadn't minded it though - not one bit - she didn't have to wear a uniform there and she'd always excelled in her subjects. But she hadn't just _attended_ a public school; she had ruled it. She was their queen, their head cheerleader, their shining star. She had been a Goddess among men, a queen among peasants. And now…now what was she? Richer, certainly. But somehow that made her less special, less powerful. Her father may have gotten a promotion, but Aurora had certainly retrogressed. It was a good thing that over the past few months she had realised that power and popularity were not of the utmost importance in their broken, fractured world.

Nonetheless, she held her head high as she walked through the school, a guide at her side. The girl she had been paired with was Wanda Maximoff, one of the two kids that had been adopted by Tony Stark, _the_ Tony Stark, over ten years ago. Aurora was surprised to find that Wanda was nothing like her rich and famous adoptive father. She seemed, for the most part, down to earth and quite lovely.

Earlier that morning, when they had pulled up outside the towering, stone institution, Aurora had been nervous. Butterflies had made her feel near sick in the stomach and her hands had been shaking on her handbag.

"I don't want to do this," she had said quietly, although in hindsight she's not sure why. What had she expected, sympathy? If so, she would be sorely disappointed. Her mother had blinked at her, unaffected. Maria Prince was an elegant but hard woman. She had raised her daughter to be the same. Weakness was impermissible.

"Aurora, get out of the car," her mother's words had been blank; not a drop of emotion wavered them.

Aurora's dark eyes had flamed with indignation at being given such a command, her jaw setting and her chin tipping upward. She had flung the Mercedes door open and not looked back.

Wanda seemed funny and welcoming and Aurora was glad. She still had a slight accent from whatever obscure country she had lived in pre-adoption, but she seemed mostly very normal.

Aurora passed a countless number of students, all dressed in the same, ugly uniform. It was a sea of moving, laughing teenagers and Aurora was no more than another wave. Barely anyone spared her a second glance. It made her feel small, powerless. Unimportant. She was used to walking down the hall and just the clack of her heels demanding attention, respect. Instead the black, leather lace ups they were required to wear, were soundless on the hard floor.

The buzz of the start of a new year was in the air. Aurora was glad that she at least got to start at the beginning of Senior year, rather than halfway through it. She didn't want to have to play catch up in classes as well as in the social department.

"You're taking AP physics _and_ AP Russian?" Wanda questioned, frowning down at Aurora's new timetable as they came to a stop outside of Aurora's also-new locker. "That's a big workload," Wanda pointed out.

Aurora shrugged - she knew it was going to be a lot of effort, but she also knew she wanted the distraction. And now that her family could afford any college in America, she wanted to be able to get into any Ivy League College that she wished. She didn't want to be held back because she didn't push herself enough. "It won't be easy, but I'll manage."

Wanda looked disbelieving, like she knew something that Aurora did not, but she didn't push the matter any further.

"Ok, first up you have Modern History," Wanda announced once Aurora had deposited her bag in her locker and just grabbed out the books she needed until lunch time. "You have Mr Rogers," Wanda's pink lips stretched into a grin. "Lucky you."

Aurora chuckled a little. "What do you mean?"

Wanda, evading the question, simply answered, "You'll see."

Aurora's eyebrows furrowed, her curiosity piqued.

"My brother's in your history class too. I'll introduce you to him and you can sit with him," Wanda promised. "He's a painful prick, but he's nice too. He's the best runner this school has, but don't let that fool you. He's really an idiot."

Aurora chuckled, although she was unsure whether she found that actually funny or was just laughing to be polite. Siblings, for Aurora, were a complicated matter. Her feelings on the subject were unreservedly murky.

Wanda walked her into the classroom, which was more like a small lecture room, with red velvet tiered seating and long bench desks, one large desk down the front for the teacher, a blank projector screen behind it. It was certainly a change from her old school, from plastic chairs and wooden desks and whiteboards.

Students were sitting in clumps, chatting and laughing.

"Pietro!" Wanda called, waving her hand toward a handsome boy their age, who immediately pulled away from his little circle of friends and sauntered toward them. He was familiar, although only from what little Aurora had seen about them in the news. He was tall and would have been lanky if not for the muscle that he had. His hair was almost white and his grin was confident, easy going. It was simple to tell where he stood in the social hierarchy of the school; up the top. Which was contrary to his sister, who was more independent, artsy probably, although too pretty to be considered unpopular.

"Who's this?" Pietro smirked, eyes wandering shamelessly up and down Aurora's body. Aurora did not cower away from his stare, although nor did she encourage it. She was used to boys looking at her like that and she took it in her stride, meeting his blue gaze strongly when he looked at her face.

"New girl," Wanda intoned. "Aurora Prince, meet my brother Pietro. Take care of her will you?"

"I can definitely do that," Pietro agreed with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Don't traumatise her please," Wanda sighed, like it was not at all an improbable notion.

But Aurora surprised the Maximoff siblings by biting out a laugh. "I'm sure we'll manage," she smiled brightly. "Right Pietro?" She raised a single, dark and perfectly manicured eyebrow at him, daring him to step out of line.

His amusement grew. "Definitely."

Wanda left quickly after that to get to her own class in time and Pietro led Aurora over to his group of friends. There were three other boys and two girls, all sitting or standing at the edge of one of the long rows of bench seats.

"Hey everyone, this is Aurora. New girl," Pietro introduced her, leaning back against one of the benches. One of the girls immediately stepped forward, like she had a duty to complete and it was of the utmost importance.

She was, Aurora had to admit, gorgeous. Her long golden hair was curled to perfection, her heart shaped face beautiful in every sense of the word and her body tall and slim, but curvy enough to entice any boy. She, along with the other girl behind her, weren't dressed in the uniform that adorned every other student's body, but rather in a cheerleading one; the top and mini skirt a mixture of navy blue's and red's and white's. The letters HC were printed on the front of the cheerleading shirt in large, serif font.

"Aurora, it's so nice to meet you," the smile the girl gave her was harmless, and yet her entire being leaked of entitlement and peril. "I'm Betty Lockwood and this is Alison," she cast a look at her red-headed friend who looked Aurora up and down like she was something interesting. Betty clearly didn't deem Alison significant enough to give Aurora her last name.

"Betty," Aurora mused, refusing to be intimidated, even though her heart was pounding. "Is that Elizabeth or Bethany?"

Betty paused, her lips pursing together like it was somehow rude to ask her full name. "Elizabeth," she replied, crossing her arms over her chest and letting her green eyes travel over Aurora in acute scrutiny. "Are you new in our city? Or just a transfer from another school?"

Aurora looked at the other two boys whom she hadn't been introduced to yet - she assumed Betty hadn't found them important enough for such an introduction. "New."

"Where from?" Betty asked like she already knew the answer and it already didn't meet her standards. Aurora hesitated.

"Portland," she eventually replied. She didn't want to be ashamed - it wasn't like it was some small, country town; Portland was a big, beautiful city. But Aurora had the distinct feeling that Betty would accept nothing less than New York or Manhattan.

"Portland?" Betty's voice was free of any judgement and yet dripping of it at the same time. "How cute."

It sounded like an insult coming from the girl's lips.

Aurora opened her mouth to reply - she didn't know with what but with something - when the bottom door opened and their teacher walked in.

"Alright everyone, take your seats," he called out, a cheerful note to his voice. Betty spun on her heel, her blonde curls bouncing and gracefully slithered down the aisle a small ways to take her seat beside Alison.

"C'mon," Pietro nudged Aurora into the seat beside him, looking a little tired and unsurprised at Betty's behaviour. Aurora let out a long, steadying breath and sat beside Pietro, squaring her shoulders and finally looking at her new teacher. What met her gaze made her eyes widen fractionally.

Mr Rogers was _gorgeous_. Tall and ridiculously muscled - to the point where it looked like his button up was going to rip if he moved too suddenly. He had blonde hair and a charming, sweet smile on his face.

 _God I wish I had teachers that looked like that at my old school,_ Aurora thought. He was dressed a little like a grandpa, with the plaid button up shirt and brown trousers, but somehow that only added to his attractiveness.

He instructed the class to pull out their laptops and everyone obliged. Aurora had been issued hers that morning - like she didn't already have one at home, collecting dust. But they were required to all have the same one; a shiny new Macbook pro.

The class started and although it was the first lesson of the year for everyone, it did not start slowly. Mr Rogers jumped right into the history of the colonisation of the Congo and Aurora had to type almost frantically to keep up.

By the end of first period, she was already exhausted and her day had just begun. Betty and Alison insisted that Aurora sit with them at lunch and the new girl, not really having a wide variety of choices and Wanda not in sight, hesitantly agreed.

What was the saying? Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. It was something Aurora and Betty intended on abiding by. At least for now.

They were sitting outside, under a beautiful, large oak tree at a benched table and eating lunch. Along with Betty and Alison, Aurora had been introduced to Victoria and Isabella. Aurora was practically under interrogation, although the questions were punctuated by fluttering eyelashes and deceptively kind grins.

"Did you have a boyfriend back in Portland?" Alison asked, pushing a salad around with her fork. She was vegan, Aurora had learned. And Victoria was pescatarian - whatever the hell that meant.

A stab of pain jolted through Aurora's heart and she gripped her fork tightly in her hand, looking down at her tray momentarily. "Uh yeah. Yeah I did," she smiled, pulling herself together swiftly. "But when I found out I was moving to New York, we ended it."

"Oh I'm sorry," Betty said with surprisingly real sympathy in her voice. Her next words sliced that sympathy in half. "It mustn't have been too serious though - if you broke up over just a little distance."

Aurora's back straightened, her eyebrows raising. "Do you do Geography? Portland is a 42 hour drive away." Her voice had more bite in it than she probably intended, but Betty was not hindered.

Betty's eyebrows pulled down in confusion and a small, disbelieving laugh left her mouth. "Wait," she glanced to her friends like her next question was almost an affront to her morals. "Do you _not_ own your own jet?" She asked like every single person in the school did and she had that expectation of them (which, in hindsight, was very possible). "Because it's only a six hour flight."

Aurora had faced competition at her old school. She had faced it with dignity and a subtlety (but ruthlessness) that had earned the respect of her entire grade. Passive aggressive was, if not created, then defined by Aurora Prince. But never had she been faced with someone like Elizabeth Lockwood.

She didn't realise her hands were shaking until her fork bumped the tray, creating a small sound. She met Betty's stare harshly. "No," she said strongly, because above all she would not let herself waver externally. "No, we don't own a jet." Betty's face of satisfaction was short lived. "My father prefers to funnel his money into long term investments rather than scarcely used commodities. Besides," Aurora smiled, flicking her hair over her shoulder. "We can afford the first class plane tickets, so it really doesn't matter."

Betty's face was in a near scowl, her eyes narrowed and angry, her eyebrows drawn down, but her lips were still twisted into a poisonous smile.

"And like you said," Aurora's silky voice indicated that she was agreeing with Betty, when it was in fact a biting remark. "Portland was _cute_. My old boyfriend was _cute_. But New York is…something else. I decided that _cute_ bored me."

Betty gulped, her smile finally fading as she realised that she had lost this round. But although she had lost the first battle, it did not mean that she would settle for losing the war. And it was a war that Aurora was fairly uncertain she wanted to fight. She had been the queen bee at her last school because it had been, for the most part, easy. She had had other girls compete occasionally, but to be honest they had never been very hard competition. And ever since moving schools, moving cities and states, she just wasn't sure she cared about those same things anymore. Did she really want to be the it girl at a prestigious high school, with only one more year to go? She knew as soon as she got to college that something like her popularity in school would mean nothing.

"So," Betty quickly changed the subject, like her defeat wasn't felt by every single person sitting at the table. "Do you do cheerleading?"

"Definitely yes," Aurora smiled. "Have trials already been?"

"Yeah you just missed them at the end of last year," Betty pouted, her sadness seeming authentic. She leant her chin on her hand, cocking an eyebrow. "I'm the head cheerleader of the Crest Comets…I _could_ make an exception for you since you're new…" She left the statement open and Aurora could see that she wanted her to ask for it, to beg maybe.

Usually, Aurora would refuse to give in, refuse to beg to anyone _ever._ But she didn't want to have this fight with Betty and cheerleading would look great on her college applications. Besides, she absolutely loved it and perhaps it might make her mother happy.

"That would be amazing," Aurora smiled sweetly. "If you could do that for me, I'd be so grateful."

Betty's lips stretched into a Cheshire cat grin and she knew she had conquered over Aurora. At least for now. "Come to the gym at second break and you can show us what you've got. But we only have the very best on the Comets."

"I'll be there."

~O~

A/N: eeee I hope you guys like it! I'm sorry there's no Bucky in this chapter - he appears in the next, I promise.

Please leave a review and let me know if this has caught your interest or not! I shall update in a few days!

I love you all, until next time xx


	2. Lust at first sight

_Lust at first sight_

A/N: Hey guys! Here is the second chapter of this story! I am really excited to keep this up. Watch out for the next 'Stay' chapter too!

Just in case you guys wanted to know - I picture Aurora as Camila Mendes, who plays Veronica Lodge in the new TV show Riverdale. I actually think that Aurora and Veronica are _very_ similar. If you guys don't watch Riverdale, then OMG you should. It's amazing.

Anyway, enjoy. Love you all!

~O~

The gymnasium at Hillbrook was absolutely massive. It towered above and around Aurora and was at least twice the size of the one at her old school. She didn't let it phase her though. She changed into some short shorts and a cotton t-shirt that Betty had kindly given her.

"Perform whatever you want," Betty encouraged. "One of your old routines, perhaps?"

Aurora knew that one of her old routines would not be enough to make it onto Betty's cheer squad. She needed flair, élan, vibrancy, _fire_. She needed to do better.

As she stretched, sitting on the gym floor and reaching forward to curl her hands around her feet, her legs staying perfectly straight, she thought through one of her favourite routines and added in bits here and there that would spice it up.

"Ready whenever you are," Betty and her entourage of girls sat in a row of chairs, all wearing the same matching uniform that Aurora was about to fight to get and all with their right leg crossed over their left, their hands folded in their laps. She stood and let out a long breath, calming her nerves. She nodded toward one of the other girls that was sitting beside the speaker, with Aurora's phone plugged in via an AUX cord. The girl pressed play and as the familiar song began to flood the gymnasium, Aurora began to do what she did best; blow people away.

When the routine finished, Aurora was puffing slightly and her hair was a little wind tossed, but she had nailed every move.

Most of the girls looked impressed. Betty looked downright murderous. She slowly stood and then a wide, unadulterated smile stretched over her face.

"Trainings are Tuesday's and Thursday's. You come to every single one. Our football team, the Hillbrook Hawks, have a game not this, but next Friday night. You have to learn the routines before then," Betty explained.

Aurora was not put off for a single beat. "Done."

Betty took her by the arm and led her into the change room. She then presented her with the darling, special uniform.

"Put it on," Betty insisted.

"But practice isn't until tomorrow," Aurora protested, holding the material in her fingertips.

"Doesn't matter. We _are_ only supposed to wear it for a period before or after practice, but no one follows that rule anyway. Half the time we just wear it whenever we want," Betty's grin was sinful.

Aurora hesitated for just a moment - was this one of Betty's tricks to get her in trouble on her first day? But Betty and the rest of her squad were wearing their uniforms and had been since the start of the day. So Aurora shed her clothes and slithered into the new cheer outfit, which fit her perfectly.

Betty zipped up the back of the top for her, smoothing her hands down Aurora's side when she was done. "Perfect," Betty intoned, looking over Aurora's shoulder at the smaller girl's reflection in her new outfit.

Aurora and Betty's eyes met. Maybe, just maybe, a war would be unnecessary and could be avoided.

Aurora's last period of the day, Economics, was thankfully with Wanda. She told Wanda everything that had happened and Wanda laughed her ass off about it.

"You're a cheerleader?" Wanda chuckled, looking over the girl's mini skirt and half-tight shirt. "God why am I not surprised?"

"Hey!" Aurora protested. "What's so bad about being a cheerleader?"

"Nothing," Wanda grinned. "Or everything, depending on how you look at it."

That made Aurora laugh. "Ok, tell me; what am I in for in economics?"

Wanda grinned mischievously as they neared the classroom. "Let's just say, that if you thought Mr Rogers and Miss Romanoff were hot, then you're in for a serious shock."

Aurora's eyebrows furrowed as they entered the tiered lecture room.

~O~

Bucky Barnes had been having an unusually good day. He had slept remarkably well the night before, getting a solid 8 hours when he usually survived off 5. He had had a good workout in the gym before school with Steve and then had a good first day back teaching for the year. His students had, for the most part, been well behaved and listened, although he knew their attention span would dwindle as the term went on. All in all, it had been a good day. But Bucky was not known for having good luck. There had to be a flip side, another shoe waiting to drop. And that downside came in the form of the newest addition to Hillbrook Crest's elite student body.

He had just walked into the classroom for the last period of the day and was pulling out his laptop and beginning to set up as the students chatted away, when the door opened and two girls walked in.

The first was Wanda Maximoff, one of his best students and one of the few he actually liked. The second…well, the second girl was something else. It seemed like time began to slow down the moment she entered the room and his eyes caught sight of her. It was like the breath had been knocked from his lungs, like a particularly hard punch to the gut.

She was an unfamiliar face, and considering he had the same class of students for Economics that he did last year, she was clearly the new pupil he had been warned about. What had her name been? At the time, when Principal Coulson had told him about the new girl, he hadn't taken much notice, but now, _now_ he remembered it like it had been seared into his brain.

 _Aurora Prince._

He had never really, truly looked at a student before, at least never with immoral intentions. But when Aurora Prince walked into his classroom, his eyes caught onto her and would not be moved.

She was enthralling. She was already dressed in the cheerleader outfit (How did she make the team already? It was her first day, for God's sake). The blue and red singlet hung around her middle loosely but was tight around her chest. The mini skirt showed off her long, tanned legs that strode confidently and yet somehow not obnoxiously or intrusively, just in a way that quietly demanded to be noticed.

She was beautiful, in every sense of the word. Her silky, smooth, raven coloured hair, darker than the night itself, hung just below her shoulders, brushing down barely past her collarbones in loose waves. The sun filtering in through the windows caught on the black strands and illuminated them, giving the illusion of stars on a inky backdrop of night. Thick, manicured black eyebrows accentuated some of the darkest eyes he had ever seen - black, almost, from how far away he was looking, but really a dark chocolate colour up close. They glinted with mischief and excitement, like just with a glance she could raise your heartbeat to extraordinary levels. Her skin was flawless - she looked like perhaps she even had some Brazilian in her or some sort, from the tanned colour of it. Her lips were painted dark red with lipstick that he knew he should tell her to take off; after all the girls were not supposed to wear makeup to school. But that rule was very rarely adhered to; the girls that attended Hillbrook Crest would not very well leave the house looking any less than perfect. Besides, the thought of asking her to take the lipstick off when it made her look _that_ heartbreakingly gorgeous, made him feel sinful. Her lips in that shade were everything tempting in life; the promise of passion and pleasure and the impossibility of disappointment. He wondered what they felt like.

Everything about her called to him, the way she laughed with Wanda, her ebony hair bouncing around her shoulders and her lips parting with the sound. Her smile was happiness in December, cold but not bleak. She was warm in all ways, yet cool at every turn. No, not cool. That wasn't quite the right word. But, not warm either. Perhaps subdued or collected. Not unbridled, but rather in control.

He got all of this in a single, 40 second long glance.

Bucky Barnes had barely been attracted to a woman in years. He looked, sure, but it had been a long, long time since he had wanted to touch. It seemed that the world wanted to torture him in presenting his long lost desire in the form of the one thing he could never, ever have; one of his students.

At this realisation, time suddenly seemed to speed up once more and Bucky caught himself staring, although after a quick peek around the room, found that he was lucky no one else had. He cleared his throat and gulped, quickly averting his gaze back down to his laptop and with slightly shaky hands (hands that had stayed perfectly steady even in life or death situations) began pulling up the appropriate notes for the lesson. When he looked back up, Aurora was seated beside Wanda and the two were engrossed in a conversation.

"Alright everyone, let's get started," he called and the voices quietened, pupils taking their seats and turning towards him. His gaze was unwillingly drawn to Aurora again, but when he found her own eyes steadily on him - as they should have been - he quickly looked away.

It was going to be a long last period.

~O~

Wanda was definitely right; Aurora was shocked. How did one school hold so many beautiful teachers within it? (Don't get her started on her psychology teacher whom she had had for second period. Miss Romanoff was not only drop dead gorgeous, but horribly terrifying).

Aurora had tried to look casual when she had first spotted Mr Barnes - but seriously teachers should not be allowed to be that gorgeous. It was just distracting.

He was tall and built, although not ridiculously so like Mr Rogers had been. He had dark brunette, short hair that was pushed out of his face and was wearing a tucked in button up shirt that hugged his large arms just right. His cutting jawline and cheekbones could be seen even from the other side of the classroom and his bright blue eyes stood out like beacons in the dark, completely contrary to her own inky eyes.

"How do students concentrate here?" She asked Wanda disbelievingly. "This is ridiculous!"

They both burst into laughter, Aurora's shoulders shaking as she and Wanda made their way toward their seats. She sat down and pulled out her laptop, eyes flickering between the screen and her teacher.

"He and Mr Rogers were in the military together for years apparently," Wanda gave her a bit of history.

Somehow, that just made him hotter. "I wanna fuck him," Aurora declared quietly to her newest friend.

"You and every other girl in this school," Wanda shot back.

"That include you?" Aurora raised a cheeky eyebrow, smirking. Wanda rolled her eyes.

"Maybe, probably," Wanda vaguely stated. "I wouldn't get too attached though. He's known to be pretty mean and grouchy. Just like Mr Rogers is a ball of sunshine, being sort of horrible to his students is basically Mr Barnes' MO."

"Really?" Aurora cast another look down at Mr Barnes. He _was_ frowning at his laptop, like he was worried or angry at something. "Great."

"Oh yeah. Marks like a bitch as well," Wanda said, right before Mr Barnes called the class to order. His voice was rough and made Aurora gulp for some reason, her throat suddenly feeling parched. She felt like she could probably listen to his voice all day. Luckily, she got to for the next 60 minutes or so.

She hoped it was a long last period.

~O~

A/N: hey guys! I hope you liked that chapter. This story will jump between Aurora and Bucky's POV a bit, so I hope I don't confuse you at all!

Please, please leave a review and tell me what you're thinking? Good? Horrid? I wanna know!

Love you all xoxo


	3. Miss Prince

A/N: Hey guys! sorry it took awhile for me to get this out! I'm super busy. Also to my Stay fans i am sorry I haven't gotten a new chapter out for that - I'm having a bit of writer's block.

Just a quick note; this tends to jump around a bit from Aurora to Bucky's POV so I hope that doesn't confuse anyone. Let me know if any clarification is needed. A good way of knowing is that (for now) Aurora's POV will call him Mr Barnes and obviously Bucky's POV will call him Bucky.

Hope that makes sense! Love you all and enjoy xx

~O~

It wasn't until halfway through the class that Bucky realised he really should have spoken to the new girl before the period started, but he had been so distracted by her, that he hadn't even thought of it. Hillbrook Crest was an elite school not just because of the ridiculous tuition fees, but because the work was at a lot higher standard and therefore they produced brilliantly educated students who went to the best colleges in the country. Miss Prince would have some catching up to do and he needed to give her some pages in the textbook to complete before next class. So when the final bell of the day rung and the students all got up to leave, like a moth to a flame Bucky's eyes were drawn to Aurora.

"Miss Prince, would you mind staying behind a minute?" he requested, loud enough for her to hear. She and Wanda exchanged a look before parting ways as she began the descent down to the front of the classroom, a bounce in her step that made her hair spring. He gave her a smile, a little small and forced. The door banged shut with the last student and suddenly they were alone. _God she's even prettier up close._ Her sable coloured eyes and ruby lips were enticing to even the strongest of men. "Good to have you in our class Miss Prince. How's your first day been?" He busied himself packing up his laptop so he didn't look her up and down.

"Pretty good so far. Definitely different though," She said with those crimson lips curled up in a smile. Her voice was silky and sounded damn near seductive to Bucky's ears, even though he was sure she wasn't doing it on purpose.

"That's good," he stuffed his laptop into his shoulder bag harshly. "About class, there's just some work in the textbook I want you to have a go at - see where you're at. How did you cope with that lesson?"

She hesitated, fiddling with one of the rings on her fore-finger. "It was a little more full on then I'm used to, to be honest," she admitted. He nodded in understanding, an unprecedented wave of sympathy for the girl washing through him. God, he did not usually feel sympathy for the spoilt students of HC.

"Where did you used to live?" he asked, his voice a little softer. Principal Coulson had said she was coming from out of state, but other than that he didn't know anything.

"Portland," a slightly sad look flickered across her face momentarily, but then the strong and deceptively comfortable expression was back in place. "But New York is amazing. I've only been here a few days and already it's like, one of the most beautiful cities I've been to."

He couldn't help being a little taken with the positive front she put up. He knew a lot of rich, spoiled students that would not stand to be moved from the city they had grown up in and then tossed into a new school just for senior year.

"Well, I'm not going to lie. This is going to be a hard year for you," he said, because he was nothing if not blunt. "But if you work hard and put in your best effort, then I'm sure you'll do fine. If you need any help with your subjects, feel free to ask."

Her smile, although before convincing, now turned genuine, her dark features softening. "Thank you," she said earnestly, a moment of vulnerability, of sincerity, taking her. She took in deep, steadying breath and the confident mask was back up, her shoulders squaring and she flicked her hair out of her face. "What pages in the text book did you want me to go over?"

Bucky's tongue darted out over his bottom lip for a moment, trying not to read too much into the small glimpse of Aurora, the real girl, that he had gotten. "Uh, just look over chapter 6. For now."

She nodded her consent and grinned. "See you tomorrow, Mr Barnes." The calling of his surname, the same name that rolled off of dozens of students' tongues every day, was like a bucket of icy water being thrown over his head, a reminder that she was just another student and he just another one of her teachers. He gave her a sharp nod, looking down and rearranging papers that were already in the right order. When he looked back up, she was halfway up the steps and she did not look back.

Bucky slumped into his chair, letting his head fall into his hands. Over the past two years he had had his fair share of pretty girls in his classes. Betty Lockwood was one example - tall and pretty and the kind of girl that he knew every guy in the grade drooled over. But he had never, not a single time, thought of any of his students the way he was thinking of Aurora Prince. It was wrong, immoral. And whilst Bucky may have been a bad boy, especially back in his own high school days, he had never truly been a bad person. He had served his country in the military for four long years and he had always done his best to protect innocents. So what the hell was wrong with him - thinking of one of his students in a completely, utterly inappropriate way?

His mind flashed back to her long tanned legs, her perfect little body, her gorgeous, sinful eyes. He groaned, dropping his head into his hands. He hadn't wanted a woman in a ridiculously long time. Why did the one girl he finally actually want, have to be a fucking student?

~O~

It had been a long first day and Aurora was exhausted by the time she got home to the penthouse. Wanda had been wrong; Mr Barnes wasn't mean or horrible - a little stand offish perhaps, but he had seemed nice enough to Aurora. Or maybe she had been too busy staring at the muscles in his arms to actually notice. (She knew that was not the case, she had in fact been paying acute attention to every word coming out of his mouth.)

"Hey pumpkin," her dad was just shrugging on one of his best suit jackets.

"Hey dad," she dropped her bag slowly on the dining table, eyebrows pulled down. "Where are you going? Haven't you just got home from work?"

"I have but we have a banquet tonight that your mother and I are going to," he explained, doing up one of his cufflinks. "I thought I told you that?"

"You didn't," Aurora murmured, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh sorry. Must have slipped my mind. We'll be back late so don't wait up," he pressed a kiss to her head as he headed to the door, calling his wife's name.

"I never do," Aurora muttered under her breath, walking toward her parent's room to find her mother before her dad got angry that she was making him late. Her mother was in front of the mirror, slipping her dark pearls around her neck as Aurora entered. "Hey mum," Aurora put on a smile, ever trying to be the pleasing daughter.

"Hello Aurora," her mother smoothed a hand down her hair, like it wasn't already perfect. "What do you think of this dress?"

It was navy blue and maybe just a little tight for a woman of her age, but her mother did look stunning.

"It's really nice," Aurora smiled and nodded, like she had been taught to do from a young age.

Her mother seemed to agree and grabbed her purse, turning to face her daughter. "You made the cheerleading team," her mother's emotions were not particularly vibrant, but a pleased look did cross her usually stoic face. "That's good. You'll have to work hard to keep in shape. You look like you've put on a few pounds since the start of summer break."

Aurora's mouth set into a hard line. Her mother knew damn well that Aurora had not allowed herself to gain weight over the summer break, keeping up a running schedule at least five days a week. She just said it to be cruel, perhaps to try and get a rise out of her daughter.

"Training is tomorrow afternoon, so I won't be back till a bit later," Aurora said, instead of replying to her mother's comment.

"Maria!" Aurora's father impatiently called from the foyer for his wife.

"I better go. There's Ceaser salad in the fridge for dinner," her mother patted Aurora's shoulder gently as she walked past. "We'll see you tomorrow morning. I expect you to be asleep by the time we get home tonight." It was a command, masked by an expectation. That was what Aurora received from her mother; high expectations and demands that were to be met.

Her parents walked out the door and Aurora was left alone in a new city, in a new place that she was supposed to call home.

~O~

The next few weeks passed quickly. Aurora became considerably close with Wanda and her group of friends, whom consisted of Malia, Chloe and Jen. They were nice girls - artsy, as Aurora had original predicted and although Aurora didn't necessarily have a lot in common with the girls, they were lovely and she got along with them quite well. Her and Pietro also became fast friends. He was hilarious and not only the best track runner the school had, but also on the football team, the Hillbrook Hawks. That meant that Aurora cheered for him loudest at the pep rallies and the football games.

The other person that Aurora spent a surprising amount of time with was Betty and her girls, her Crest Comets. They cheered together and Aurora quickly became one of the best in the team, which wasn't a surprise really considering she used to be head of her old team. Betty was, as she always had been, a downright bitch. She was ruthless and cunning, but once she deemed that it was safer to keep Aurora close to her, rather than alienate the girl, she clung onto her tight. And thus a lot of lunchtimes Aurora was obliged to sit with Betty and her clique.

But her social life was not her only problem. Hillbrook Crest was academically _hard_ and Aurora was struggling. She couldn't afford to let her grades drop senior year, but when she got her first AP Russian test back, it had a B- printed on it. She gaped at the paper. She hadn't gotten less than an A- on anything since Freshman year. Her Russian teacher, Mr Morozov, was an old Russian man who cared little for his students and when she asked for extra help outside of class time, Mr Morozov snapped at her that if she couldn't handle the work maybe she should drop the class. Considering she had been getting straight A's in Russian at her old school, she would not settle for that.

At lunch she sat down beside Wanda and although outwardly she looked as she always did; calm, collected, perfectly cheerful, Wanda managed to spot something in her friend's gaze that made her ask, "What's wrong?"

Aurora gulped down the lump in her throat and, Wanda being one of her only confidants, pulled out the test, presenting it to Wanda. "I haven't gotten a mark that bad in years," Aurora struggled to keep the whine out of her throat. She was not a whiny person, but she was upset. "And I asked Mr Morozov for extra help outside of class-"

"I bet that didn't go well."

"And he threw it back in my face," Aurora would not tell her parents about the test. She would make up the mark in the coming assignments and then her report card would display a shiny, perfect A. It had to. "I have to make this up but…If he won't help me.."

Wanda hummed in agreement, thinking for a few long moments before saying, "I know that Miss Romanoff and Mr Barnes have both taught Russian in the past. Maybe you could go to one of them and ask for some extra help?"

Aurora mulled this over for a few moments, chewing her lip. "Miss Romanoff is a good teacher and all but she's also terrifying. I think I'll ask Mr Barnes. Thanks Wanda." She smiled at her friend.

"You know, most of the student body thinks Mr Barnes is even scarier," Wanda pointed out, innocently taking a bit out of her carrot. "You're the exception."

"He's grumpy, I guess, but he's nice," Aurora protested. "For the most part." Sure, Mr Barnes snapped at his students sometimes and gave them a lot of homework, but ever since that first day Aurora had thought that he was nice, not mean and horrible like his reputation suggested. And he was a really good teacher, who always seemed willing to help and really cared about how well his students did, despite his sometimes cold exterior. They both had Economics up next, so Aurora grabbed her books and stood once more, "I'm going to go and catch him before class starts. Hopefully he's already in the classroom. Thanks again Wanda."

She set out to find her teacher.

~O~

A/N: Eeee I hope you guys are liking it.

PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! It would mean so much to me!

Love you all! xx


	4. AP Russian

A/N: Hey guys! Here's another chapter yay! Sorry this jumps around POV a little bit, shouldn't be hard to distinguish which is which.

Please leave a review for me at the end xx Enjoy!

~O~

The term so far had been crawling by slowly. Although Bucky stayed busy, between the gym and his work, the days seemed to drag on and on. He had thought that his first, strange reaction and undeniable attraction to Aurora Prince would wear off as she settled into the role of his student and he got used to the idea that he had to teach Economics to something that looked as good as her, nearly everyday. But it didn't wear off. If anything, over the next few weeks, it intensified. He would glance up in the middle of class and she would be chewing on her pen, her red lips wrapped around the utensil and it would take everything in him not to suddenly stumble over his words. That fucking cheerleading outfit of hers near killed him; the way when she walked up the steps the skirt was short enough that he could very, very nearly see her ass.

He did his best to repress the feelings he had for her and to treat her like just another student. On the former front, he failed miserably. As for the latter, he at least succeeded for the most part.

He had admitted to Steve, after he had near killed his best friend when they were simply sparring at the gym, taking all of his anger out on the blonde haired man, that he had finally found a girl that he was attracted to.

"That's great!" Steve had smiled, in that way that could light up a room. He was one of the few people that knew about Bucky's recent and very voluntary dry spell with women, and he also knew how strange that was for Bucky Barnes, who, in high school, was a complete womaniser. But ever since return from war, Bucky hadn't so much as looked twice at a girl. "Did you ask her out?"

Bucky had taken an angry swig out of his water bottle, squeezing the plastic hard in his hand. "No," his voice had been angry, gruff. Steve's smile had turned into a frown and _dammit,_ Bucky hated making him upset.

"Why not?"

Gritting his teeth, Bucky had turned away, snatching up his towel and wiping sweat away from his face. He'd clenched his left arm, the scarred one, and thought he could feel it ache, although he knew it didn't actually hurt anymore. It was the ghost of an ache, a whisper left behind of the pain he had endured. "Because I can't," he'd replied.

"Does she have a boyfriend? She's not married is she?"

"No Steve - or I don't know. Maybe she's got a boyfriend. Look, it doesn't matter. I can't have her," the truth of it had hit Bucky in the chest, momentarily knocking the air from his lungs. He could never initiate something with Aurora, even if she was over-age, even if she wasn't his student. He was damaged. Damaged beyond repair. And nobody deserved to have to put up with him, to deal with his insomnia and anxiety and nightmares. Even Steve didn't deserve to have to deal with Bucky's mood swings and anger issues, but Steve was stuck with him (And Steve of course would have it no other way).

"Why can't you have her? Who is this girl Buck?" Steve had asked, placing a hand on his shoulder and turning his long time best friend around to face him. "You haven't been interested in a girl since we got back. C'mon, you could at least just ask her out."

Bucky had debated telling him, coming clean about the fact that she was a student. But Steve was so good, so moral and principled. He'd never, in a million years look at one of his students the way that Bucky looked at Aurora. And Steve was one of the last people that saw the good in Bucky. Bucky did not want to crush that, that seed of hope that Steve still carried around inside of him that Bucky was still the same, good man that he was _before_.

So he'd changed the topic of conversation and Steve had reluctantly allowed it.

And a few weeks later, after Aurora had come into class with a lollipop in her mouth, sucking on it so distractingly and painfully unintentionally provocative, that Mr Barnes had ended up snapping, "Aurora no eating in class. Put it in the bin."

He had thought maybe she would get angry at him for it, hate him for it even and glare at him in class from then on. But she had only grinned apologetically and gotten up to throw it in the bin, calling out a, "Sorry sir," that he would think about in a different scenario later.

it wasn't until he thought about her, about her lips wrapped around that red lollipop and then her lips wrapped around something of _his_ , whilst he was jerking off that he knew it had gone too far. Much, much too far. It was wrong to think about her like that and after he had come, panting and shaking in the shower, the guilt had hit him solidly. Like he didn't already have enough guilt heaped onto his shoulders.

He vowed that he would not think about her when he was touching himself ever again, because it was horrible and he didn't have her consent and she was his _fucking student_.

And then when he realised, two days later, that he literally could not jerk off and come _without_ thinking about her, he stopped - cold turkey. It was wrong and Bucky had done some wrong things in his life, but this would not be one of them.

So, two weeks later, when he got to his Economics class early and found Aurora standing outside the door, typing away on her phone, he may have had more than a little sexual frustration pent up.

"Mr Barnes!" She smiled, straightening up and putting away her phone when she saw him. "Just the person I wanted to see."

That made his heart pound in his chest and he readjusted his grip on his shoulder bag. "What can I do for you Miss Prince?"

She looked gorgeous, as always. She wasn't wearing the cheerleading uniform today - thank God - instead the usual pleated knee length skirt and button up shirt, which was a lot more modest, adorned her small frame. Her raven hair was straight and pooling around her shoulders, framing her face.

Aurora had always had a dangerous glint to her, a spark of peril, of risk. But she also was kind. She was strong, but didn't have to be horrible _to be_ strong. He wondered briefly if that was what he found so enticing about her.

"I was wondering if I could ask you a favour."

Bucky gulped, his eyebrows furrowing. "Why don't we go into the classroom?" he suggested and she nodded in agreement, moving aside so he could unlock the door. But she didn't move far, so he had to stand less than a foot away from her as he unlocked the door. He could smell her perfume - like light cinnamon and jasmine. He wanted to get closer to her, but instead he moved further away, flinging the door open and striding down towards his desk to put some distance between them, Aurora following adamantly behind.

"What's the favour?" he asked when he reached his desk, dropping his bag down on the mahogany wood, his voice possibly a little harsher, brisker than he would have liked.

She looked a tiny bit nervous then, which was unusual for her. Her eyes darted to the floor momentarily before she reached into her bag and produced a test, handing it to him.

It was her AP Russian test and she had gotten a B-.

"I heard that you used to teach Russian. Mr Morozov won't give me extra help outside of class and I really need to get that up to an A," she explained and he could see that she was really, truly upset at the grade she had gotten, even if she hid it decently well.

"AP Russian is a hard subject," he pointed out. "A _B-_ is a good grade."

Her lips pursed, her nostrils flaring with something close to annoyance. "It's not good _enough_."

Bucky saw, time and time again, kids who heaped too much pressure on themselves, who pushed themselves to the breaking point with every piece of assessment. He also saw kids who didn't care, whose parents spent thousands and thousands of dollars on their education only for them to flunk every class, to focus on their social life instead. Because no matter what they would always have their trust fund to fall back on, their mommy and daddy to pick them up out of the dust and ensure that they lived a luxurious life.

He despised the latter, definitely preferred the former, even if it was hard to see kids put that much pressure on themselves - he understood it, at least more than he understood the kids who threw away their education like 40 grand a year was nothing.

"I was wondering, if you have time, if maybe you could tutor me. Just one or two sessions a week…I really need to get this grade up before report cards come out," she had an almost…scared look in her eye that made him a little worried. Maybe her parents were really harsh on her.

Him tutoring her was a bad idea - he didn't trust himself to be alone with her. But the look on her face was so earnest and so close to pleading, that he knew he could not refuse her, not because of his own selfish desires. He sighed and nodded his consent and his heart jumped at the way her whole face lit up.

"Twice a week. One hour on Wednesday afternoon's and Friday morning's. Don't be late. Bring the work that you get in class and we'll go over it together," he commanded, just knowing that something bad was going to come of this. But he was a teacher and he cared about all of his students. He would do whatever he could to help one of them get better grades and improve. He just hoped that he didn't end up completely fucking it up.

.

Aurora was relieved - she had thought for sure he was going to reject her, tell her to drop the class like Mr Morozov had. Luckily he'd agreed and she could finally relax a little. "Thank you," she said, completely sincere. "It means honestly so much to me."

His blue eyes softened looking at her and for a moment there was a sort of heavy silence. He was on the other side of the desk and she was glad for it, otherwise she might have done something stupid like hug him. Then the bell rung to signal the start of class and students began trickling in, snapping the moment in half like a twig.

"I'll uh, see you on Wednesday afternoon then?" Aurora shifted on her feet a little.

Mr Barnes nodded jerkily. "Yes. We'll meet in the library right after last period."

She nodded as well. "Thank you again," she said before turning and walking up to her usual seat. Wanda was already sitting there, waiting for her.

"How'd it go?" her brunette friend questioned, opening her laptop. Aurora slid in beside her and looked back down at Mr Barnes. Their stares met, as it seemed his gaze had already been trained on her. For a single, long moment, across the classroom, their eyes were locked together. Then he quickly wrenched his eyes away, busying himself with his notes.

"He agreed to tutor me…so, it went well," Aurora looked at her friend, who was looking back at her a little strangely. "Really well."

~O~

That Wednesday afternoon, Aurora strode toward the library, not hurrying because Aurora Prince did not rush, but not exactly dawdling either. Betty had caught her after class and given her a 10 minute speech about her round-offs and keeping her legs straight (even though her round-offs were _fine_ thank you very much) and now Aurora was going to be late to her very first tutoring session with Mr Barnes. Not exactly a great way to start when he was doing her a favour.

The library at Hillbrook Crest, like everything else at the school, was absolutely massive. It was two stories and had hundreds of shelves, thousands of books, filled with millions of words. Luckily, despite its size and grandeur, it didn't take Aurora long to find her teacher. He was sitting at one of the many booths, tucked away in one of the quietest corners of the library. No one else was in sight, the librarian on the lower floor and only a few students scattered around. He looked up from his laptop that was open in front of him as she approached and she knew straight away that he was annoyed.

"I know," she said as she came to a stop beside the booth. "I'm sorry. Betty caught me outside of class and…"

He still looked considerably unimpressed, raising his eyebrows over his icy blue eyes.

"It won't happen again. I promise," Aurora really hoped he wouldn't pull out, say that it wasn't worth it just because she had been late. That would be very bad because she had just gotten a tonne of Russian homework and she was a bit confused on several aspects of it.

He sighed and his expression mitigated. "Don't let it."

.

Bucky motioned for her to sit opposite him. But instead Aurora pulled out her Russian homework and slid in right beside him - they had to both be looking at the paper and it would be easier if they were facing the same way. It was logical really, but also entirely distracting. Her scent engulfed him and he stiffened as her arm brushed against his, making his heart race, but she either didn't notice or didn't let it outwardly show, as she placed the sheets of paper down in front of them. He forced himself to calm down, closing his laptop lid and shifting subtly as far away from her as he could, pressing against the wall. He had imagined himself pressed between a wall and Aurora Prince more than once, but it had not been like this.

They began working through the homework - he helped her with her verb tense and pronunciation. Hearing her speak Russian did something to him, made his insides flip. The words rolled easily off her tongue and her lips, pink that day instead of the usual red, punctuated each sound beautifully. Occasionally he would catch himself simply staring at her profile, her ebony hair curtaining her face, her dark eyebrows drawn down. He would then startle back to reality and force himself to concentrate, to not move closer to her.

"See this here," he pointed to Question 6 on the piece of paper and she leaned over to look, close enough that one of her hairs tickled his cheek. "You mixed the words around again. Do you see where you did it?"

Her eyes scanned the page for a moment before she pursed her lips and nodded. Then she looked up at him, seeming not to realise how close she would be when she did so. She was only a few inches away from his own face, looking up at him. Their eyes locked together, blue on impossibly dark brown. "Yeah," she said, so soft he only heard her because she was so close. "Yeah I see it." Her breath tickled over his lips. God she smelt heavenly, like everything good he could think of in the world. Her shoulder was touching his upper arm, one of her knees pressed to his thigh. The air around them was heavy, so heavy he found them both practically panting, breathing heavily. Her eyes broke away from his to look down at his lips. He wanted to kiss her. God he wanted to kiss her so bad it hurt. He wanted to taste her lips against his own and lie her on the table and take off her uniform and see exactly what was underneath.

And, at that moment, he had a feeling that she'd let him. That she'd kiss him back. The undeniable chemistry between them was sparking like wildfire, blazing, blazing, blazing through his body and mind. He had never felt anything even close to it in his life - hadn't thought that cheesy shit like it had existed in real life until he had laid eyes on her.

He wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, a hair breadths away from kissing, a second away from changing absolutely everything between them.

But then a group of teenagers walked by, talking loudly and the moment was shattered like glass. Aurora jerked back, sliding away from him and sinking into the leather of the bench seat, her gaze adamantly trained in front of her and her eyes wide.

Bucky's heart was hammering in his chest, so hard he was sure it was going to pop right out. For a moment they sat still, Bucky looking at her, her looking away, and they listened to the group of noisy teenagers get in trouble by the librarian. Then, seeming to heave back into action, Aurora straightened up, putting on a smile and checking her phone. "Oh, that's the hour up. Well, that went quick. Thank you for all your help," she began quickly gathering up her things, piling them back into her bag and hardly meeting his eye. He stayed very still, afraid to spook her further. He glanced down briefly at his watch. They actually still had 5 minutes, plus she'd been 10 minutes late, so they hadn't gotten the full hour in, but Aurora seemed fairly adamant on leaving. She slipped out of the booth, standing up and finally looking at him again with a fake smile stretching her lips. "Thanks again. I'll see you on Friday morning."

He nodded his agreement, still too embarrassed to say anything.

"Have a good afternoon Mr Barnes," her voice was just a little less fake than seconds previous. Before he had the chance to say anything, although he wasn't sure what he would have said, she'd turned on her heel and was walking away. He watched her until she was out of sight and his head dropped into his hands. He couldn't believe he had actually just allowed that to happen. He'd very nearly kissed her. His student. A girl that was 7 years younger than him and his student.

 _I'm fucked,_ he thought miserably. _I'm totally and utterly fucked. And not even in the good way._

.

Aurora walked straight out of the library and then straight into the girls toilets (equipped with leather benches and fancy taps and automatic soap dispensers). She stopped inside and leaned on the sink, her head dropping down. "Stupid," she muttered aloud. How could she have been so _stupid_? She'd nearly kissed her teacher. And he'd clearly thought that she was some kind of desperate idiot - what else would he think? God, she wished she could take it back. She never let herself get out of control like that, always kept a tight rein on what she wanted and never acted without thinking. When she'd said to Wanda that she wanted to fuck him, she hadn't meant it literally. Or..maybe she had. But she would never actually _act_ on that desire. That was ridiculous and naive and _unnecessary_ when there were dozens of hot guys in her grade that would literally kill to just go on a date with her (or with any half-pretty girl - seriously boys were so desperate). So why, when she could have any of them, did she seem so attracted to her freaking Economics teacher?

She quickly recomposed herself, drawing in a deep breath and steadying her racing heart. She would meet with him on Friday morning and act like nothing happened.

She could do that. She could pretend that she hadn't wanted to literally throw herself on him, that hearing his deep voice speak Russian hadn't made her squirm in her seat. _Sure,_ she thought miserably. _I can do that._

~O~

A/N: I really hope you guys liked this chapter!

Please leave me a review and tell me what you're thinking? Would mean a lot x

Love you all! Will upload a new chapter for this and my other story 'Stay' ASAP! Until next time xx


	5. We, us, together

Thursday afternoon cheerleading practice left Aurora with next to no energy and an aching body. Betty had driven them hard to be perfect, making them go over the routines again and again and again. The next morning, when Aurora's alarm went off, she had to literally drag herself out of bed and into the shower. She got to the school library thankfully a few minutes early, but looking a little less perfect than usual and with every muscle in her body aching. Mr Barnes was sitting at one of the tables this time, in the middle of the very public area, not tucked away like their booth had been last time. She couldn't help thinking that it was because he didn't feel like they should be secluded together. He was probably right. When he spotted her, he looked up and smiled tightly. She took a seat, across from him, having learnt her lesson.

"How are you this morning?" She chirped.

"Good, thank you. You?" he asked, although she could tell he knew she looked a little tired. Thankfully, he didn't comment.

"Brilliant," she replied and smiled at him, planning on ignoring whatever had happened last time and simply getting on with the freaking Russian homework. But Mr Barnes had other plans.

She was pulling out the papers when he spoke. "Aurora, about what happened last session.."

She slowed, looking up at him with wide eyes that begged for him to just ignore the issue.

"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. It was unprofessional of me. I didn't want to put you in that kind of position. It won't happen again," he promised, looking completely sincere and regretful.

Her heart constricted in her chest. _Made_ me _uncomfortable?_ She thought. _I thought_ I _made_ him _uncomfortable._

"It's..fine, nothing happened," she assured, because she wasn't sure what else to say. "You didn't-… _don't_ make me uncomfortable," she said, because it was the truth. "Let's just forget about it ok?"

They were both unsure how to do that, but he seemed relieved nonetheless, his shoulders relaxing a little although she hadn't noticed how tense he was before.

"So about this paragraph…" she pushed the paper over to him, changing the subject and steering it back onto what they were both there so early in the morning for.

The rest of the session went without mishap.

~O~

Standing outside her locker, Aurora and Wanda were having a conversation when they were rudely interrupted by a loud voice.

"Hey Aurora!" It was Kyle Hentley, head of the football team and all around douchebag of the school. He was devastatingly handsome with a mop of brunette hair and drool worthy abs, not to mention filthy rich with both parents politicians, but he was as demeaning and disrespectful as they came. "If you're not busy later," he grinned as he walked past her, turning to walk backwards and maintain eye contact with her. "Maybe you and the Maximoff girl can come over to break in my new hot tub." He stuck his tongue in his cheek as his green eyes twinkled mischievously.

"Can I help you with something Kyle?" Aurora raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Your 8th grade homework maybe?"

His friends all burst out laughing at him whilst the grin on his face slipped for a moment. It was back before he disappeared around the corner, his ego bouncing back from such a hit with ease.

"God he is such a dickhead," Aurora rolled her eyes as she turned back to her locker.

"Yeah, you don't know the half of it," Wanda intoned.

Aurora looked at her friend. "What do you mean?"

Wanda took in a deep breath and then let it out, like she was prepping to tell a mighty story. "He and Betty dated for a year from halfway through Sophomore year to halfway through Junior. She wasn't actually always a bitch, you know."

"Wait really?" Wanda now had Aurora's full attention, the raven haired girl crossing her arms over her chest and facing her friend.

"Yeah, she actually used to be pretty nice. Or at least nice-ish. She was happy when she was dating Kyle, really happy. Then she caught him cheating with one of her best friends, Ella. They'd been best friends since like, primary school apparently. She was devastated. Broke up with Kyle obviously and never spoke to Ella again. Betty didn't come to school for nearly two weeks. Ella transferred to an all girls school in Manhattan a month later. And Betty practically swore off boys," Wanda explained. "She's been cruel ever since. Lost not just the boy she was in love with, but her best friend too. I almost feel sorry for her."

Aurora _did_ feel sorry for Betty. Although the blonde was a high strung bitch at times, no one deserved to be treated like that and clearly she had a reason for being so horrible.

"That's terrible. Boys are the worse," Aurora declared and Wanda laughed. It saddened Aurora further to think that Betty hadn't only been betrayed by her boyfriend but a girl she considered her best friend as well. Aurora just wished that at least girls would stick together.

~O~

The library was especially quiet that day, with hardly anyone around. By chance, Aurora didn't have much Russian homework that day either, so they ended up finishing the worksheet before their hour was up. Aurora assumed that Mr Barnes would want to get out of there, but instead he leaned back in his chair and said, "You've settled in here really well. I'm not going to lie; I've seen kids come here, especially from public schools, and crash."

It wasn't a particularly comforting thought - because she still could very well crash - but his words reassured her in a way. "I can see how that would happen," Aurora said, because it was true. "I really miss my old school sometimes. The workload was certainly lighter."

"I bet," he grinned easily and, unbidden, thoughts of how absolutely gorgeous he was when he smiled like that (which was not often) entered Aurora's head. His eyes crinkled a little and his perfect, white teeth showed. He was one of the most handsome men Aurora had ever seen. "Portland must seem like a lifetime ago by now."

"Freedom in dress code seems like a lifetime ago," she shot back with a grin of her own. He chuckled, a jovial sound that had her giggling as well. "Uniforms suck."

"Yeah well, less than a year to go," he pointed out. "What colleges are you looking at?"

Aurora looked down at her book for a moment, biting her bottom lip. "My dad went to Columbia, so he's kind of adamant on me going there."

"Right," Mr Barnes said. "But what colleges are _you_ looking at? Where do you want to go?"

Aurora looked at him for a few moments, appreciation swelling in her chest. She'd had a fair few people ask her about college in the past few weeks, and her previous answer of where her father wanted her to go had always satisfied them. They had never asked what she'd thought, what she wanted.

"Somewhere a bit further away," she said. "Harvard, maybe. Or Yale. I want to live on campus, not at home," she added, because it was something that she was unwavering on. She would not spend four miserable years of college living with her parents.

He nodded in understanding. "I can see you at Harvard. You'd fit in."

She smiled, laughing a little. "I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not. It either means you think I'm smart or stuck up."

He was laughing as well, his broad shoulders shaking as he leaned back in the chair. "I guess you'll never know."

They talked for a while longer and he helped her look at some college applications, even though he really didn't have to. The time seemed to fly by and before long the librarian announced to them that the library was closing, meaning they'd stayed a whole extra hour.

"Sorry," Aurora said as they packed up their things. "I didn't mean to keep you."

He glanced up at her and shook his head. "No, it's fine. I don't mind."

He slung his shoulder bag over his shoulder and walked her out, ignoring the scowls of the librarian because she probably closed up early if there was no one in the library and they were the last two there.

When they got to where they had to part ways, he stopped and gave her a small smile. "I'll see you in class, Aurora."

She nodded in agreement, tucking her hair behind her ear. "See you then Mr Barnes," she said as she backed away, before spinning on her heel and walking off. He stared after her until she disappeared from sight.

~O~

Weeks turned into months and the time continued to fly by for Aurora. She adjusted to her new school and to the new work load. She continued her sessions with Mr Barnes and found that they actually got on really well. He still made her nervous, in a way that most hot teachers will, but they joked together and often talked about things that weren't related to school if they had enough time in their tutor sessions, even continuing to go over time if they were caught up in a conversation. He asked her about Portland and he told her a story or two about him and Mr Rogers when they were in high school that had her laughing loud enough to get a dirty look from the librarian.

As Christmas break neared, the workload at school got heavier. Aurora's mother had high expectations, told her that they 'better not be throwing away good money on that school' (like Maria Prince hadn't just gone out and bought _another_ pair of ridiculously expensive and unnecessary shoes).

But all the hard work was worth it when she got handed her AP Russian assessment back, with a big, red 'A' marked on it. She grabbed it and headed straight toward Mr Barnes' classroom. He was already there, preparing for his next class.

"Aurora," he smiled as soon as he saw her, like he always did. "What can I do for you?"

"Look!" She exclaimed, holding up the piece of paper for him to see with a massive grin on her face. "We did it!"

He looked just as pleased as she was, smiling broadly in a way that made Aurora's stomach flip. "Well done, I'm really proud of yo-"

He was cut off when she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly, the piece of paper crumpling in her fist. He stiffened under her for a moment at first, completely surprised at her course of action. But then he slowly raised his arms, wrapping them around her middle and lifting her off the ground, holding her tightly. She felt his face bury into her hair as she fisted her hands in his shirt. She knew they shouldn't be doing this, that students and teachers didn't hug like they were hugging, if at all. But he smelled like the woods and outdoors and he felt like _safety_ wrapped around her, so she held on just a little longer.

She knew he was muscular, it was obvious from just a glance at him, but pressed against her, she could feel that he was absolutely ripped. Hard muscle lay beneath her hands, against her torso. It made her half-light headed with how attractive he was.

When she finally went to pull back, his arms stayed locked in place, his face burying further in her hair, like he was begging for just one more moment. A few beats later, and he let her go reluctantly, placing her back on the ground. His hands lingered on her waist and when he hauled them back to his side, he did so with an effort, like it was physically hard for him to lose all contact with her.

"I'm proud of you," he repeated, quieter and completely sincere. She gulped, looking up at him. His blue eyes were intense and reminded her of the sea in the early hours of the morning, just before dusk broke and the world teetered carefully on the edge of light and dark.

"I couldn't have done it without you," she pointed out, also quiet.

He looked like he was about to protest, before stopping. He liked to think that there was a part of her life, no matter how small, that _needed_ him completely.

The bell rung loudly and Aurora sighed. "I have to get to class," she said, her voice still strangely soft. He nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets and taking a step back.

"Have a good day," he said and she gazed at him like he was something sweet or something precious.

"You too," she said, before looking down at the slightly crumpled but no worse-for-wear piece of paper in her hand. Then she backed away a few steps before turning around and walking out of the classroom.

~O~

A/N: Hey guys!

I hope you liked this chapter and like how their relationship is developing!

PLEASE LEAVE ME A REVIEW? Shoutout to my wonderful reviewers so far; Love. Fiction.2016, cametobuyplums, EmaleighFrench, Beatrice Hartley, Calliope's Scribe and Guest. Love you guys more than the world.

Hope you guys have a good weekend!

Until next time xx


	6. Chance

A/N: Hey guys! Here's the next chapter. Sorry for the wait - a bit of writer's bloc, but we're back on track.

One of my Guest reviewers asked if I'd come across any other Teacher/Student fics with MCU characters and the answer is yes! There is one by Team Damon (one of my favourite fanfic writers EVER) called 'After Class' and it is Bucky/OC as well! It's on this website too. Check it out.

~O~

Bucky isn't positive when he realised he was completely and utterly infatuated with the enigmatic Aurora Prince. One of their sessions, maybe, when she'd told him about a little, quiet river in Portland that she had visited when she'd needed to get school work done. Or perhaps it was when he was lying in bed at night, thinking about the way the sun reflected off her obsidian coloured hair, how her eyes twinkled like the night sky. Possibly, even, when he was teaching a particularly boring class of Economics and she looked like the only person paying full attention, her eyes trained on him solely, like they were the only two people in the room. Otherwise, it could have been at one of the pep rallies he was required to attend (that, since her arrival, suddenly didn't seem so bad), when she was bouncing around and shaking pompoms in that tempting little cheerleading uniform. Or maybe right before the football game began, when their eyes met from across the sea of the crowd, locking together harshly and the noise around them suddenly seemed to drown out. His brain was a constant buzz of activity (check the perimeter, secure the location, scan for threats) but when he looked at her, everything went quiet, like nothing in the world mattered except that one girl.

He isn't sure of the exact moment that he knew, but amongst the past weeks, he had completely and utterly fallen head over heels for her. At first he had told himself to push it away, to pretend that his feelings didn't exist. But when he saw her nearly everyday of the week, it was hard to do so. How could he push her out of his mind when she invaded his sight for hours a day?

 _She's a child,_ he would remind himself. But when she spoke eloquent Russian or accidentally brushed her leg against his, he couldn't help but think that she was anything but. She was collected, cool and always respectful in a way that many teenagers weren't. She appreciated his help and regarded the opportunities she had been given highly, working hard to keep her grades up despite the fact that it was a massive step up from her old school.

What he felt for her wasn't just physical attraction - although perhaps it had been at first, perhaps it had been her beauty that had first caught his eye. Now, he cared about her, about her feelings and dreams and hopes. He respected her as well, because even on the days when he could tell she was exhausted, physically and emotionally, she would put on a smile, would ask how his day had been and be polite, despite the fact that he could tell that all she wanted to do was sleep, to give up maybe. He admired that trait the most about her, her ability to cover up her emotions and put on a good, courteous mask. He often failed on that front, walking around the school with a scowl and snapping at his students due to a bad nights' sleep or particularly horrible flashbacks. He tried not to, tried not to project his anger onto other people, but it was hard sometimes. Steve took a good brunt of it, but his gold-hearted best friend never minded.

On the last day of school before Christmas break, he was walking down the hallway when he saw Pietro Maximoff with Aurora. She was standing at her locker, leaning back against the cold metal with her arms crossed over her chest. She was smirking up at the taller boy, who was standing too close to her to be considered normal. He threw his head back in laughter at something she said before placing a hand on the lockers behind her, right beside her shoulder. Bucky knew he had no right to feel angry; he had literally no claim over her whatsoever. But he still felt an inexplicable surge of jealousy and rage flood his veins. And the worst part was that he could do nothing about it. Nothing but avert his gaze, continue on like he was fine, like he didn't feel like punching something.

He went to the gym that afternoon and nearly knocked Steve out. The fury didn't leave his bloodstream for days and the thought that if he was just 7 years younger then Aurora would be his, haunted him like the ghost of his dead and buried innocence.

~O~

Winter break was a more than welcome reprieve for Aurora. The first term at her new school had been absolutely killer and she was in desperate need of a breather, even if it did mean spending a bit more time with her parents.

Christmas was a cold and clinical event in the Prince household, a tradition that Aurora would have been more than happy to forgo, although she would never say that aloud. Her father worked right up until late Christmas Eve and her mother didn't decorate the penthouse beyond the simple, white, fake tree with strict colour coordinated ornaments. Aurora got a shiny, new BMW on the morning of Christmas. She would have been happy with any old car, so long as it ran, but she knew her mother would have her driving no less than the best. It made her resent the gift, in a way, even though she knew that was selfish of her. Most kids in the country would kill for that car and yet Aurora didn't want it. She didn't want it because she knew that she only got it to make her look better, to display her status over everyone else. She was not an average girl, with an average car, who went to an average school. She was part of an elite society, an aristocratic upperclassmen. Nothing less, nothing more. How she loathed their wealth and yet pitied the poor. She wanted to give it all away, donate it to some charity that could stop a child from starving to death. But her mother would have none of that. Aurora thought it was curious that a woman who had grown up in such poverty, could have so little empathy or remorse for those that still resided in destitution.

A little over a week before school went back, Aurora was sitting on her bed reading through her Physics textbook, getting ahead for the next term. She enjoyed Physics very much, which was why she was doing Advanced Placement. She always thought the concepts were more than interesting, even if some of them were hard to wrap her head around. She thought, perhaps, she might have a career in the field when she was older. It was drizzling lightly outside, mixed in with some snow. She loved the cold weather and was curled up in a comfy pair of jeans and a loose sweater.

Abruptly, her room door was thrown open and her mother stalked in, an icy expression on her already usually cold face. Apprehension immediately burst in Aurora's stomach, unfurling through her body and slipping silently between her veins.

"What is this?" Maria's voice was filled with barely contained fury that made Aurora truly scared. Her mother held up the Russian test from back earlier in the term, the dreadful B- printed loudly on the front. The paper was crumpled - it had been folded in the bottom of Aurora's bag, which her mother must have been going through.

"It's a test from earlier in the term," Aurora managed to stay composed, keeping her voice even. If she got upset, her mother would just get angrier at her for being weak. "The new workload threw me at first, but I worked extra hard and I got an A on-"

"You are such a selfish child," her mother cut her off, her long, ruby red fake nails curling into the white, crushed paper of the test. "The opportunities you are given and for what? For you to be less than average?" Her mother slithered closer to the bed like the snake she was and Aurora gulped in barely-contained fear - or maybe anger, sometimes it was hard for Aurora to distinguish the two emotions. "This is pathetic. Your father works hard every day for us to live the life we do. We pay good money for you to go to that school and-"

"I didn't ask for it," Aurora cut her off, her voice surprisingly strong despite her shaking hands. She slowly stood, her shoulders squaring and her dark eyes flaming with a burning anger of her own. "I didn't ask to be sent to the ridiculously expensive school. Or for the stupidly expensive car or designer clothes. I didn't ask for any of it!"

The slap to her cheek was unexpected, but not necessarily unsurprising. It was not the first time her mother had hit her. It would not be the last. But it did fucking hurt. Aurora's head whipped to the side with the force of it and she felt her lip split against her tooth. The metallic taste of blood clawed at her tongue as she felt a trickle of the crimson liquid slide down her chin. Her cheek burned but when she looked back at her mother, it was Aurora's eyes that burnt brighter, like a July sun or the flames of a bonfire. She took a threatening step towards the older woman, her jaw set and her hands curled into fists.

"You are a horrible, spiteful woman. And you take your misery out on me because you somehow think you are doing me a favour. Well, maybe you are. Maybe your job in my life is to really teach me everything that I should _never_ do, everything that I should _never_ be. And face it; without me, your life would be completely meaningless. My father doesn't even like you, he simply tolerates you because that's the path of least resistance. He throws himself into his work to keep away from you and keep you happy. I work my fucking ass off at school to please you and what do you do all day? Shop?" Aurora did not feel sympathy for her mother, even though she should have, even though a kinder person would have. As far as Aurora was concerned, sympathy for the devil was a futile endeavour. "Your life is pointless. And so you try and give it some meaning by trying to be the best. Have the best outfits, be the richest, have the perfect daughter. Well, I'm not perfect. And you sure as hell aren't either."

With that, Aurora stormed past her mother, who tried to grab at her, screaming insults at her daughter that Aurora ignored. She yanked away from Maria and slipped on her _Vans_ shoes (that she very rarely wore - heels were the usual status quo for a Prince girl) quickly before yanking open the door and walking out. She went down the lift and outside.

It wasn't until twenty minutes later, when she was a fair distance from the penthouse and her anger and adrenaline finally began to wear off, that she felt the cold. The rain and snow that had only became heavier in the past half an hour, had immediately soaked through Aurora's sweater and her feet were freezing in her canvas shoes. Despite this, Aurora continued on, not looking back.

An hour later, she was lost. She had come to know New York decently well in the few months that she had lived there, but she hadn't walked in that direction, that far before and she had no idea where she was. She slipped her hand into her pocket to grab her phone in order to Google Map it, only to realise she had left the device on her bed in her rush to leave her home.

"Fuck," she muttered, beginning to shiver. She was _freezing_. She wasn't in a busy part of the city and although a few cars drove past here and there, she didn't see any other pedestrians that she could ask for directions out and about due to the poor weather. Unsure what to do and half sure she was about to go into hypothermia, she turned around and tried to retrace her steps. But she'd been so angry and out of it on the way there, that she couldn't for the life of her remember which turns she had taken. And thus retracing her steps only caused her to become more lost.

She was half ready to give up, to curl up on the wet, snow covered ground and just _die_ , when a car rolled to a stop beside her. The window rolled down and a familiar face looked through. "Aurora?" His voice was like a splash of warmth on her otherwise frozen body. She whipped around to face him, eyebrows drawn down in surprise and confusion.

"Mr Barnes?" She questioned with chattering teeth, only half believing her eyes. _What are the chances?_

~O~

A/N: Oooo bit of a cliff hanger there! Hope you guys liked this, I will update soon!

Please leave me a review and tell me what you think? Please? Will take you 30 seconds I promise!

Love you all, until next time xx


	7. Risk

A/N: Oh my god YOU GUYS! I got so many reviews on the last chapter in such a short amount of time that I thought I HAVE to update for my amazing readers. Please enjoy this chapter! We are building up to some serious action *wink wink*.

~O~

Bucky quickly pulled the car into park at the sight of Aurora's wet, half frozen form, and jumped out of the vehicle. Worry rushed through him - she looked more dishevelled than he'd ever seen her and her cheek was red with a slowly fading mark, her lip split and crusted with dry blood. Had she been robbed? Attacked? He immediately shrugged off his jacket as he walked toward her, before holding it up, over her body and head, trying to shield her from the persistent rain.

"What are you doing out here in the cold?" He demanded, eyes wide as he looked her over. It was really cold out and his long sleeved t-shirt was immediately soaked from the rain, that just seemed to be getting heavier by the minute.

"I uh…" she was shivering uncontrollably, her teeth clacking together loudly. "It's complicated."

He let out a long breath. "C'mon, I'll give you a ride home, you can't stay out here - you'll freeze to death."

The girl hesitated for a moment, but when he draped the jacket he had previously been holding above her head, around her shoulders, she gave him an appreciative look and allowed him to lead her over to the car. He pulled the door open for her and Aurora slid into the warm leather of the car, immediately engulfed by the heat of the air conditioner. Bucky closed the door behind her before striding around to the drivers side and hopping in. He cranked up the heat further, looking worriedly at her quivering form. She was resolutely not looking at him, staring straight ahead.

"Aurora, what happened?" He asked, his eyes scanning her red cheek, bleeding lip.

She closed her dark eyes for a moment. He had never seen her look so vulnerable before and it scared him a little; to think someone who seemed so unbreakable was suddenly so fragile.

"I had a fight with my mother," despite her delicate state, her voice was detached and clinical, although quiet.

Bucky gulped. He had always assumed that Aurora had the perfect, loving and filthy rich family. _I guess I was wrong_. "Did she hit you?" The thought made him angry, that someone would even lay a hand on her, but he couldn't let Aurora see that, so he kept his voice even and his body relaxed.

The trembling teenager's stare dropped down to the floor before she pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. She rested her forehead on her legs and he was startled when a hard sob wracked her body, followed by another and another.

Sniper rifles, people trying to kill him and extreme rescue missions were all things that Bucky Barnes could handle. A crying girl, especially one that he cared about, was something much more delicate and complicated.

"Hey, hey," he cooed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and nearly recoiling at how absolutely _freezing_ she was. He turned up the heating even higher, to max. "It's alright. It'll be ok." Reaching across the console between them, he pulled her against his chest and she immediately curled into him, her small hands fisting in his shirt and her tears soaking the material. The bone-deep chill that had seeped throughout her entire being seemed to ease only when she was in his arms.

"She's so horrible. I hate her," she hiccuped and his eyebrows furrowed as he pulled her closer, because that was such an undeniably _teenager_ thing to say. He didn't like to think of her as a child, but at that moment, as she was sobbing into his chest, he couldn't help but admit to himself that she was one.

"It'll get better," he promised, running a hand up and down her back. He loved being that close to her, holding her like that, but the fact that she was crying and upset took away any possible comfort or enjoyment that he may have gotten from the embrace. He'd always imagined that holding her close would feel like home and it did - as was demonstrated when she hugged him after getting an A on the Russian assessment - but at that moment all he felt was sadness for Aurora and a twinge of anger at her mother.

She only stayed in his arms for a few moments longer, breathing onto his neck and causing a light shiver to run down his spine. Then she pushed back, leaving him wet and cold from the loss of her body. She wiped at the mascara under her eyes, pushing the wet strands of her even darker hair due to the rain, out of her face. Even in this state - no, _especially_ in this state; vulnerable and messy, she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. He watched as she pieced her mask back together swiftly, her face falling into a careful neutrality. "I'm sorry," she apologised. "You don't care about that - none of this is your problem," she smiled, small, but smoothly, although he could immediately tell how fake it was.

"That's not true," he cut in, a hint of anger at the mere suggestion that he didn't care seeping into his voice. "I care, Aurora." She looked over to him with slightly surprised eyes. He reached out, hesitating, before touching her red cheek, trailing his fingers along the abused skin, all the way down to her split lip. Her eyes had blown wide, staring at him with an intensity that made his heart pound. His fingers stopped a mere millimetre away from her lips. God he wanted to touch them, touch them and kiss them.

"I don't want to go home," her voice was small, a stark contrast to the steadfast tone that she had used just moments previous. "Not yet."

He gulped past a lump in his throat and forced himself to take his hand back. He knew he should tell her that she had to, that he had an obligation as her teacher to drop her home and make sure she was safe. But he didn't say any of that. Instead he said, "Why don't you come back to my place and have a warm shower and get some dry clothes before you freeze to death?"

It was completely inappropriate, no possible way to professionally justify him inviting her back to his _apartment_ \- but he needed to make sure she was alright and if her mother had hit her, he was not ready to let her go back into a potentially unsafe and volatile environment.

Her eyes widened even further, like she was shocked at the suggestion, but nonetheless she quickly nodded, agreeing. They stared at each other a little longer, their eyes communicating something that could not be put into words.

Then Bucky licked his bottom lip quickly before yanking the car into drive and pulling away from the curb. The car ride was silent, a heaviness settling over them, between them, pervading the very air that they breathed. Aurora stared out the window, watching the world fly by in a flurry of white snow and heavy rain. They went over the Brooklyn Bridge - Aurora had only been to Brooklyn a handful of times, and only ever very briefly.

Bucky glanced at her every chance he got - every red light and stop sign, taking in her beautiful profile. Her usually vibrant and lively face looked tired - not in the way that could be cured with a simple good nights sleep, but rather a bone deep exhaustion that had settled into her very soul. Bucky could relate to that on a molecular level. He'd felt tired for years.

It was only when they pulled up outside of his apartment building that a wave of nerves washed over him. Aurora was used to luxury, to multi-million dollar penthouses and sweeping hotel suites. His apartment, whilst not at all detestable or dirty, would more than likely not meet her standards. But Aurora was still shaking and her clothes were still wet and her health took precedence over her thoughts on his wealth or lack-of.

He got out and strode around to the other side of the car, pulling her door open for her. She looked mildly surprised at the action, looking up at him as he held a hand out for her. She hesitated for a moment and he was about to take his hand back when she slipped her own, small one into his. Their palms slid against one another and their fingers threaded together. His hand dwarfed hers, his skin rough and calloused where her's was soft and smooth.

He gently pulled her to her feet and then closed the car door behind her. He wrapped his jacket tighter around her shoulders to shield her from the cold before leading her into the apartment building and out of the rain once again. They walked, hand in hand, up the stairs and then stopped outside of his apartment door. He hesitated, still thinking she'd think less of him because of his apartment and wondering if he had done the dishes or left his dirty boxers out. She squeezed his hand assuringly, like she somehow knew what he was thinking. Then he unlocked the door and let her walk in first.

.

Aurora looked around, her eyes scanning over the modern furniture; a charcoal leather couch, dark wooden dining table and white cabineted kitchen. Picture frames hung on the walls and rested on a small table. Two paintings; one of a beautiful galaxy and the other of a gorgeous multi-coloured bird perched on a tree branch, also decorated the crisp white walls. It was nice and although small, Aurora immediately took to the little apartment, her heart swelling at the sight of a real home rather than just a place to live or a place to show off wealth. She walked forward to pick up one of the photo frames in her shaking hands. It was a picture of Mr Barnes and Mr Rogers, equipped in army uniforms. They looked a lot younger, smiling confidently at the camera. It must have been at the start of their tour.

Mr Barnes's hand on the small of her back made her look at him over her shoulder. He looked at the picture, his jaw set, before murmuring, "C'mon, you need to get warm."

She nodded in agreement, placing the photo back down on the mantle and allowing him to steer her down a hall and towards the bathroom. Another painting of a lake decorated the hallway.

"Just in here," he pushed open the bathroom door and then allowed her to walk inside. The bathroom, like the rest of the apartment, was modern but small. Her gaze caught on the mirror, on her reflection. Her hair hung limp and dripping over her shoulders. Her makeup was smudged to nonexistence and her cheek was still bright red, her lip a little swollen where it was split. She looked like a mess. Worse than a mess. She looked broken.

Mr Barnes must have ducked into his room quickly whilst she was caught up in her reflection, because he reappeared with one of his shirts and a pair of sweatpants for her. She looked at him and paused before taking them, their hands brushing during the exchange and somehow making her heart pound even faster. "Thank you," she said quietly, like to speak loudly was to shatter some false sense of serenity.

He nodded, a little tense. "I'll make some coffee," he offered and her sable eyes looked at him with an intense sort of fondness.

Then, with a last, lingering look at her, like it hurt him to let her out of his sight, he turned and left. She closed the door but did not lock it, before quickly shedding her wet, heavy clothes. She hung them over the bathtub before turning on the shower. She let it run for a moment to heat up, because the last thing she needed was more cold water, before putting a hand under to feel the temperature. The water felt scalding hot on her skin and she quickly withdraw her hand, hissing. She tentatively reached out again and put her hand back under the spray. The hot water burnt at first, but as her limb warmed up, she realised the water was not in fact that hot but rather her body had just become accustomed to feeling ridiculously cold.

She forced herself to step into the shower and just take the heat until her body acclimatised to it.

Half of her could not believe that she was truly naked, showering, _naked_ in her teacher's bathroom. Her ridiculously _hot_ teacher's bathroom who she may or may not have been crushing on for the past few months.

 _No,_ she immediately scratched that thought. _I do not have crushes. I am not in the 8th grade._

Well, whatever she felt toward Mr Barnes, it was not platonic and not at all school appropriate.

She washed her hair with his shampoo, because she didn't think he'd mind, and then stood under the deliciously warm spray for a few solid minutes, gathering herself together and warming her body. She washed off the blood on her lip, but couldn't do much about the red cheek. She just hoped it didn't bruise.

When she finally re-emerged from the shower, she put on his navy, long sleeved t-shirt, which fell to her mid thigh, and her underpants, which had thankfully been somehow shielded from the rain and were mostly dry. The t-shirt was soft against her skin and smelt like him, like the woods and mountain air and something particularly male. She thought that she had gotten herself together, but when she discovered that the sweatpants were literally way too big, even with the drawstring done up as tight as it went they still fell all the way down, she realised she would either have to put back on the soaking, wet jeans or walk out there with no pants. Whatever pieces of herself she had managed to fragment back together, quickly fell apart once more. But she was Aurora Prince, and shame or embarrassment about her body was not an emotion she was willing to feel. So she towel dried her hair a little and smoothed a finger over her eyebrows, before taking in a deep breath and walking out in just his shirt and her underwear.

~O~

A/N: hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Things are starting to heat up hehehehe.

Please leave a review and tell me what you thought! PLEASEEEE

Love you all xx until next time!


	8. Reward

Barnes was in the kitchen, making coffee as promised. For a moment she stood, leaning against the wall and watching him grab out the milk, two mugs. He was so devastatingly handsome; his whole face was practically perfect, from the white, straight teeth to the jawline and swoon worthy eyes. Not that Aurora was the type to swoon. _Ever._

He'd changed into a different, dry, long sleeved t-shirt and a clean pair of black jeans. He glanced over his shoulder, seeming to sense her presence, and for a moment his eyes widened, sweeping over her; her bare legs and body swimming in his shirt. He gulped, his grip on the mugs tightening so much she thought he might smash them.

"Do you, do you take milk in your coffee?" He croaked out, his gaze suddenly glued to her own, resolutely not looking down at the rest of her.

"Just a splash," she replied, her voice still soft. "Two sugars."

He nodded stiffly and turned to quickly make them up. "Take a seat," he nodded toward the kitchen bench and she walked forward and slid onto one of the stools. She threaded her fingers together in front of her, looking down at her hands. She didn't want to admit that she was embarrassed, but she was. She'd cried like a baby in front of him and he'd found her at her absolute weakest, her most vulnerable. Aurora didn't like being vulnerable in front of people often. Ever, really.

When he slid her mug across to her, leaning on the other side of the bench, she gave a him a small, appreciative smile. She wrapped her hands around the cup, letting the heat of the brew inside warm her as she took a sip.

They sat in silence for a few long minutes. It was not awkward, but it was tense.

"What did you fight with your mum about?" His voice was not demanding or expecting, just gentle and soft.

Aurora took in a deep breath, looking into the depths of the brown coffee, as if it held an answer she was in desperate search of. "My Russian test. The one I got a B- on."

His face twisted into confusion, into anger. "She hit you for getting a freaking B- on a test?"

Aurora pursed her lips, a shot breath coming out of her nose. "No. Yes. It's…"

"Complicated?" He guessed. She looked up to him and their gazes met.

"Convoluted," she corrected and his lips were drawn up in a half smirk.

"Synonymous," he pointed out and she laughed a little, looking back down to the brew in her hand.

"Maybe," she mulled it over, fiddling with the ring on her pointer finger.

"Have you always fought like that?" He leaned forward, resting on his forearms. If she reached her fingers out, they would brush against his. She was tempted, but temptation was something Aurora had learnt to resist long ago.

She hesitated before answering, unsure whether to give him the truth or the truth she would give someone else, the truth that was really only half the truth made to look whole. "No," she finally admitted, after a considerable amount of deliberation. "She's never been a mother to me. I mean, she was always there as this..matriarchal figure, but she's never really been my mum. It's like I've never actually gotten any love from her. But I could live with that. Now she has these…crazy expectations and unrealistic standards that I'll never be able to meet."

His eyes were flitting over her face, studying her. "When did things change? When did the expectations start?"

This was where the truth that she told other people stopped, where she would make up a lie or just evade the question. But she didn't want to do that. Not with him. She trusted him, in a way that didn't make sense considering how little time she had known him. It had been a few, meager months. It felt like years.

"I uh…" she gulped on a suddenly parched throat and took a gulp of coffee, like that could wash away the intense feelings that were rushing through her. "I had an older brother."

God, she hadn't said those words in so long.

"Or have..I don't really know," she sucked in a breath of air and was suddenly unable to meet his eyes. "I haven't spoken to him or seen him in..well over a year. He uh…He got into some bad stuff. Drugs and things. That's why I'm not really sure if he's alive or not." She sniffled and felt hot tears burning her eyes but she quickly pushed them back, straightening her back a little and sneaking a glance up at Mr Barnes.

He was looking at her intensely, his focus solely on her. It made her feel important, like she was worth hearing. It encouraged her to continue. "I was never sure if he was really my full brother or not. He had blonde hair and blue eyes. My father has dark brown hair and my mother is half Brazilian and looks like me, so there's no way they could both be his parents. I think…I think my father may have had an affair early into my parents marriage and maybe got the girl pregnant. I think he took the kid in, Francis - my brother - and my mother was supposed to just raise him as her own. But my mum…she was always so hard on Francis. He had to be perfect. Like he had to somehow earn his place in the family, everyday of his life. And he did, for so long. He was captain of the football team, straight A student. He had a nice girlfriend. But senior year came around…and the pressure was just too much. He started taking pills to help him focus and it just..escalated from there. He got in with the wrong crowd because he was buying drugs off them. His girlfriend broke up with him, he started failing his classes, he was dropped from the football team. He broke," her dark nail polish, she noticed, was chipped in one place. She'd have to repaint them when she got home. "And he left. God knows where he went. My mother kicked him out, I suppose. They never, _ever_ speak about him. They haven't since he left. But now those expectations that she has…they fall to me. She's afraid that I'll bomb out like he did, that I'll suddenly break. So if I slip up even a little bit, she thinks everything is falling apart. I just-.." Suddenly those pesky tears were back with a vengeance, invading her eyes and before she could stop them, spilling down onto her cheeks. "I just don't know if I can be perfect."

Sympathy overcame his features and he straightened up before quickly walking around the bench. He looked like he was going to embrace her, pull her against him like he had in the car, but right before he did he stopped, hesitated, and settled for putting a hand on her shoulder instead, leaning down a little so he was at the same height as her. "Hey," he cooed. "Rora look at me."

It was an inopportune time to use the nickname. Her brother had used to call her that, especially when they were younger. The tears flowing down her cheeks strengthened. She'd never really had time to grieve her brother. He hadn't died (that she knew of), but, to her, it had seemed like he had. He'd left her world, disappeared before she got home from school one afternoon. There, one moment. Gone, the next. Her brother, her hero. Ripped from her life and leaving behind a weeping wound that had never had time to heal, no time for her to process exactly what had been lost. And her parents didn't help the matter. They never spoke about him, never mentioned him. There were no pictures of him adorning their walls. He had been erased from their lives, a blemish on the Prince bloodline that needed to be wiped out.

Mr Barnes gently grabbed her chin, tipping her head up to look him in the eyes. "Listen to me. You don't have to be perfect. Nobody can expect that of you. You shouldn't expect that of yourself," his tongue darted out to wet his lips for a moment, his gaze dropping down to her own lips for a second. He quickly refocused. "All you can do is try your best. But do it for you, Aurora. Whatever it is, whatever you want. Make sure you do it for you."

She was trying her hardest to reel in her emotions, to stop crying like a fucking baby. She leaned forward and rested her forehead on his chest. For a few moments he didn't move, before slowly lifting his hand to place it on the back of her head, his fingers carding gently through her damp, midnight coloured hair. He leaned down and rested his lips against the top of her head, closing his eyes and savouring the moment.

She sniffled gently against him, placing her hand on his side and feeling hard muscle ripple beneath his shirt. Aurora had had boyfriends in the past, she'd had flings and crushes and gone on dates. And none, not a single one of them, had made her feel like Mr Barnes did. And wasn't that fucked up? That a teacher could make her heart race and yet make her feel more safe and at home than any boy her own age could?

 _Maybe I am crazy, maybe I have gone off the rails like my brother did and I just don't know it yet,_ she thought as she pressed into Barnes harder. _Oh well. Let me drown in my insanity. What a lovely way to go mad._

She pulled back and looked up at him through her dark, thick eyelashes, her enticing lips parted. He gulped, his eyes looking pained like he was desperately trying to restrain himself. Her hand on his side slowly began to slide upward, settling onto his chest. He leaned down, just a tiny bit, the space between their faces diminishing slightly, close enough that if she leaned up just a bit, they would be kissing. His hand in her hair moved to gently cup her cheek and his skin against hers was like lightning on an otherwise cloudless night. It shocked her, her breath coming out in short gasps.

His thumb wiped away a few of her tears.

"Aurora," he whispered her name like a prayer to a foreign God. "You're upset. You're not thinking clearly." Was he trying to convince her or himself? Neither of them were sure, but the convincing didn't take.

"I'm tired of thinking," she was whispering too, although she wasn't sure why - there was no one around to hear them.

"Rora," he groaned, shifting even closer, pressing against her as she sat up straighter. Her hand moved up further, onto his shoulder and their faces were just a few millimetres apart. So close.

"Please," she mumbled, when she saw the hesitation building in his azure eyes.

"It's wrong," he choked out. "I'm-I'm your teacher and all of this is so _wrong_ -"

"It doesn't feel wrong," she cut him off, her voice continually breathy. "You can't tell me that this - us - feels wrong."

He grimaced, his arm snaking around her and pulling her flush against his chest. Her arms wrapped around his neck as he lifted her and placed her on the kitchen bench like she weighed no more than a feather, before standing between her parted legs and resting their foreheads together. Still, he hesitated. He knew that once he kissed her, there would be no going back, no pretending like nothing happened. Kissing her was a leap of faith that he was unsure he could make.

But she knew she wanted it. She couldn't remember wanting something so much for a very long time. And she hadn't even realised how much she'd desperately wanted it until that day, when he'd pulled up at the curb and taken care of her like she was something special. That's how he made her feel; special, like she meant something to him.

Her heart was pounding in her chest, her breathing erratic and her lips begging to be kissed.

"I want you," his voice was broken, an internal battle waging inside his head. "I've wanted you since the moment I saw you."

Her breath hitched at that and the world around her stopped spinning. All that was left in their little universe…was them. The two of them, together.

She bit her lip, bringing it between her teeth and with a pained groan, Barnes finally closed the gap between them. The moment their lips touched, it was like the world around Aurora burst into vibrant colour, despite the fact that her dark eyes were closed. She'd kissed her fair share of boys in the past, but this was something completely different.

Butterflies of excitement and lust exploded in her stomach and she immediately hungered for more. But Barnes kept the kiss gentle, light, their lips just feathering over each other. He held her gently, her face cupped in his hand, like she was precious and breakable. She appreciated the sentiment and it made her feel all gooey inside, but she wanted more.

They pulled back, both panting and staring each other right in the eyes, their hearts beating in tandem. Then Aurora fisted a hand in his shirt and yanked him toward her. Their lips met again, with considerable more passion and force than before.

Their tongues tangled together and her fingers carded through his short hair, pulling him even closer to her. He moaned into her mouth, like just kissing her was ecstasy, and one of his hands slid up the outside of her bare thigh, making her shiver. It settled on her hip, his palm resting on the side of her panties, under his shirt that she wore, and his thumb pressing against her hip bone, almost painfully.

He dragged his lips away from hers, across her cheek before nuzzling into her hair a moment, making a small sound when he smelt his shampoo on her.

She extended her legs before wrapping them around him to pull him closer. She reached up to catch his lips with her own once more. Her hands ran all over him, from his shoulders and chest, up to his hair and neck. He tugged on her hair, breaking their lips apart and tilting her head back before he descended on her neck. He licked over her pulse point, kissing down her throat before sucking a bruise onto her collarbone. She gasped and jolted in his grip, her legs involuntarily tightening around him and causing their hips to jerk together, a bolt of pleasure running straight through their bodies. She could feel the bulge of his erection through his jeans and a moan escaped her lips. She was so turned on it was absolutely ridiculous, and from what she had just felt of him against her, he was feeling exactly the same.

She pulled him back up to her lips, meeting him with a bruising force. His chest was pressed against hers and his arms wound around her body. He was so much bigger than her, but they fit together perfectly, like they were hand-crafted for each other.

She tried to pull his hips back against hers, but he stopped her, cupping her neck with his big hands and gently pulling her away, gasping out, "Aurora, just wait."

She did, hesitantly, letting him put only an inch or two of space between their bodies - not that he was planning on going far.

"We should-" he cut off with a groan when her fingers trailed down his stomach enticingly, stopping just before the waistband of his jeans.

She pressed her lips against his cheek and then murmured teasingly against his skin, "We should what?"

"We should.." he puffed, struggling to recall his train of thought. She made his mind foggy, his senses blocking off the outside world and zeroing in on just _her_. "We should take a breather," he managed to get out, gulping and stepping back. "We should talk about this.. or something."

She sighed and leaned back a little before closing her eyes and rubbing them with her hands. She didn't want to think, to talk, to discuss and analyse. She wanted to kiss and feel and have his breath on her neck. When he was kissing her, the fact that he was her teacher suddenly seemed irrelevant. But with the distance he had put between them, it all came rushing back. What they had just done, it changed everything. The ramifications and consequences of a sexual relationship between a teacher and student were severe at best and absolutely terrifying at worst.

"Aurora this…" he looked between them and then his jaw clenched. "It shouldn't be happening."

For some reason, it felt like she had done something wrong, deep in her stomach. _It's not wrong_ , she told herself, _I know what I'm doing._

But did she? How could she? At 17 years old, Aurora had had her fair share of boy experience, but if she was going to be completely honest - which she rarely was on this front - she was still a virgin. She'd done other stuff, sure, but she'd never done _that_. Didn't that fact alone make her inexperienced?

"Just…" he reached out and cupped her cheek and she immediately leaned into his touch. His eyes were worried, confused. "Just tell me that you want this. Tell me that I'm not..pressuring you into anything, that this isn't me somehow using my power over you to-"

"Stop," she interrupted, slipping down from the kitchen bench and onto her own two feet. She reached out and grabbed his hand, threading their fingers together and stepping up close to him. "You're not pressuring me. I don't allow myself to be pressured," she pushed. "I want this." It scared her to say, like she was somehow signing her own death warrant, but she printed her name on the dotted line regardless, consequences be damned. "I don't know why," she admitted. "But I want this."

He closed his eyes and his shoulders slumped in relief. His head lolled down and he rested his cheek against hers.

"If people found out…" His breath feathered across her skin.

"I know," she whispered. "They won't."

He made a sad noise in the back of his throat, his hands running up and down her sides, sometimes hitching on the T-shirt she had on and drawing it up. "This isn't good for you…You shouldn't have to hide - I should-I should stop this right now.."

"Please don't," she murmured as his lips hovered over her neck. He breathed against her throat and her eyes fluttered shut. He brushed his lips ever so gently over her skin before pressing a feather-light kiss there, then another and another.

"I couldn't," he said, so quietly she almost didn't hear. "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't."

He had tasted her, had kissed her and felt her body in his hands. There was no going back. He hadn't just stepped off that edge, he had leaped and now he could not climb back up - he didn't want to. He just wanted her.

She pulled away from him to look him in the eyes. Their gazes met and for a few, heated moments they just _looked_. Somehow, despite the kissing and grinding and gasping, it was the most intimate thing they had done thus far. It was a silent promise, an inaudible agreement. They were in this, together. They would figure out some crazy way to make it work.

Then he let out a breath and pulled her against him, hugging her like he was afraid she would slip through his fingers like quicksand. She quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder, squeezing him tightly. He squeezed her back in return.

"Let's just…not think about it for a little bit, alright?" She murmured into his skin. "Can we please just..talk or something?" They pulled back to look at each other.

The 'or something' was implied heavily. Kissing him was heavenly to her, a reprieve from the pain of her current predicament. In their passionate kiss, her lip had began to bleed again and a droplet of blood dripped down to her chin. He wiped it away with his thumb.

"Ok, c'mon," he took her hand and led them over to the couch, sinking down into the leather as she sat beside him. She put a hand on his chest and leaned forward but he stopped her, grimacing.

"What?" She asked; a boy had never refused her before.

He gulped, his throat bobbing. "I don't want you to think that I only want you for that. I don't, Aurora. You're more than that."

She bit her lip, even though it was a bit painful to do so, and looked at him fondly. It was sweet, she supposed, that he wanted to show her that she was so much more than the sex. He was so much more… _mature_ than boys her age - which of course was to be expected.

So they talked. And they talked.

 _I could talk to him forever,_ she thought. _There aren't enough hours in the day for everything I want to say to him_.

They had an effortless way with each other and after spending so much time together when he was tutoring her, they were rather familiar with one another. She wouldn't say comfortable, though, not yet. He still made butterflies explode in her stomach and made her think over everything she said before she said it. That was good though, for her. She needed something…something _exciting,_ exhilarating _._ He made her heart pump in a way boys her own age just…didn't. She hoped, sincerely, that by some miracle it would last.

~O~

A/N: hey guys! I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter because it was a pretty exciting one!

Please leave me a review and tell me what you're thinking so far!

Thank you my lovelies x until next time!


	9. Coincidence

The time managed to escape them and when the clock struck 6 o'clock, Barnes sighed in disappointment and said, "I should get you home."

The thought sucked all joy and excitement out of Aurora's body like a vacuum. She did not want to go home. But the longer she put it off, the worse it would get. It wasn't like her parents would be out looking for her or anything - her dad wouldn't have even noticed that she was gone, if he was even home from work, and her mother…Well, she doubted her mother really cared. But still, she couldn't stay in Barnes's apartment forever, no matter how much that sounded like a genuinely nice idea. So she pursed her lips and nodded in agreement, standing with him. She was still in just his t-shirt, but he had thrown her clothes in the dryer and they were warm and dried by then. He went and grabbed them for her, holding them out for her to take. She placed her hands on top of his and their eyes met. She wanted to lean in and kiss him, but she wasn't entirely sure she was allowed. He licked his bottom lip a little and his eyes darted down to her mouth, but then he slipped his hands out from beneath hers and let them drop to his side. For a brief moment, she considered getting changed right there, in front of him.

 _Don't be a slut_ , she told herself, even though she was pretty sure you couldn't be a slut if you were a virgin ( _And there's nothing wrong with being a slut, necessarily - you shouldn't shame girls_ , she chastised herself because it was something she was passionate about). Then she turned and walked down the hall, into the bathroom to get changed. She thought she could hear him blow out a breath of relief as she did.

She re-emerged a few minutes later, fully clothed. They stayed silent as they headed back down to his car. He pulled open her door for her and she thanked him quietly before slipping into the leather seat. He shut the door behind her.

The drive was quiet also, for the first half. They had just hopped off the Brooklyn Bridge when he spoke.

"Can I ask you something?" He glanced at her briefly before looking back ahead, changing lanes.

"Yeah," for some reason, her voice had a tendency to be quiet around him.

He chewed the inside of his cheek for a moment, seeming to debate whether to actually ask her the question. "Is there something going on between you and Pietro Maximoff?"

It was not a question she was expecting. She looked at him, eyebrows pulled down. She nearly stuttered out an answer, but kept her mouth closed instead. _Silence is better than half-formed sentences,_ her mother's voice rung in her ears. When she had thought about her response for a few beats, she spoke. "No," she said. "There's nothing going on between me and Pietro Maximoff."

Barnes' throat bobbed as he gulped. "Does he know that?"

Her eyes narrowed. " _I_ know it. That's all that should matter." She didn't mean to use a harsh tone with him, but the implication that Pietro's feelings about a potential relationship somehow mattered more than her own had her bristling. She knew he most likely didn't mean it like that, but it was principal. Aurora had high principles.

He shifted in his seat and rolled his left shoulder. "I didn't-…" His jaw clenched. "I didn't mean it like that."

She fiddled with the ring on her forefinger - a nervous habit that she had had since she was 12. Her mother often swatted her hand when she saw Aurora do it. Aurora no longer did it in the presence of her mother.

"It's alright," she said, because she was unsure what else to say. Then, hesitating only long enough to wonder if she was allowed to, she reached out and put her hand over one of his, that was resting on his leg, his other hand on the steering wheel. He looked at her in mild surprised, but his hand still turned beneath hers and their fingers slid together, locking in place. It felt nice, comforting, but also…dangerous. The whole concept of them, together, was somewhat thrilling to her, in a way she knew it shouldn't be. But it wasn't just the concept of them. It was him. Everything about him drew her in like a moth to a god damn flame.

She held his hand until they pulled up behind her building, via her directions. He peered up at the tower, looking considerably unimpressed or impressed - it was hard to tell with him. Possibly both.

"Can I see you again?" She felt stupid asking, but she wanted it enough that she would take the knock to her ego.

His gaze turned to her and he looked pained, fighting an internal struggle.

Upon seeing this, Aurora brought their conjoined hands up to her face and gently pressed a kiss to his knuckles. His breathing intensified, along with the atmosphere in the confined space of the car.

He gulped down his hesitations and nodded. "When are you free?"

They made plans for him to pick her up the next afternoon - she was going shopping with Wanda in the morning, but would be free by 2 o'clock.

"What will you tell your parents?" He asked, feeling guilty and a little sick at the idea that she had to lie _and_ at the idea that she was young enough to have to report to parents in the first place.

She shrugged. "Nothing, probably. I'll just tell them I'm going out." _Not that my father would be home to hear my plans._

His eyes wrinkled in concern at that, but he didn't push the matter - thankfully. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Ok."

"Ok."

She didn't get out of the car, stayed seated and locked in his gaze. She leaned forward, slowly, unsure. He made a small, pained noise in the back of his throat, but still leaned closer to her. Their foreheads pressed together, their breaths mingling. Then he kissed her, lightly and delicately. She could have moaned aloud at that simple touch, the way it made her feel right down to her core, but it was over all too soon. She sighed as he pulled back, half content and half begging for more, more, _more_.

"Goodbye Mr Barnes," she said, going to open the door. He grimaced, making a face.

"Please don't call me that," he said, squeezing her hand a little, still encased in his own.

She paused; she hadn't thought of that. "What should I call you then? James?"

He delayed answering a moment, looking out the windshield briefly. "Bucky," he decided on. It was a funny name and it made amusement light her face, but it was also intimate in a way. It made her feel special, like she was in on some secret. She bit her lip before leaning forward again and kissing him briefly.

"Bucky?" She questioned once she had pulled back, barely an inch away from him.

"From Buchanan, my middle name," he agreed, smiling like she was and _God_ his smile did something to her, because she knew he did not grin like that at people often. He was usually so stoic and restrained, only offering small smiles to people out of required politeness.

"That's a strange middle name," she pointed out. He laughed a little.

"There was a president," he said.

"I know," was her reply. "15th president of the United States."

He laughed again and then sobered a bit before pressing a kiss to the corner of her mouth.

"Will you be ok?" He asked, glancing up at her building.

She looked down at their joined hands, just for something to look at. "I can handle it."

His eyebrows pulled down in concern. "That doesn't mean you should have to."

Their eyes met. "Maybe," she agreed. "But that's just life." She knew he was being nice, but she didn't need it. She didn't need coddling, because she wasn't a child. To prove her point, she leaned over once more and kissed him, pushing her tongue into his mouth and making him moan lightly, their lips sliding together and tongues tangling. Then she pulled away and stepped out of the car, leaving him hungering for more and staring after her dazed. She leaned down. "Bye Bucky," she smirked, before shutting the door and walking away. Right before she entered her building, she looked over her shoulder. He was still there, watching her in his car. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she pushed her way inside, as she rode the elevator up and as she stood outside the penthouse door, gathering herself.

 _Is this real?_ She asked herself. _Did that all really just happen?_

Before her brain could answer itself, the door was yanked open and her mother stood before her, her glare as icy as ever.

Aurora swiftly composed herself, straightening her shoulders and meeting her mother's glare with cogency.

"Where were you?" Maria demanded; her tone clearly demonstrating that she was not in fact worried about her daughter's whereabouts, but rather annoyed that Aurora had somewhere else to go.

"Away from you," Aurora bit out, pushing past her mother and striding toward her room, fully intending on closing the door and locking it behind her. Unfortunately, with a quiet thud of the front door shutting (because Maria would never let the neighbours know that a fight was occurring with something as trivial as a slamming door, because the outside world had to think that perfection was the Prince's status quo), her mother followed her adamantly.

"Listen to me Aurora Prince," her mother's voice, although always icy and impersonal, was even colder than usual; the antarctic in the middle of the night, heavy snowfall on all fronts and no end or reprieve in sight. Dangerous, even. It made Aurora stop and turn, because even though she did not respect her mother, she was still her mother. And parents had a kind of power over children, inspired a kind of fear that demanded to be felt. Even Aurora, despite her strong morals and even stronger attitude, could not ignore it.

Maria stalked right up to her daughter and glared straight into her eyes; eyes that matched Aurora's. Rora despised the fact that they looked so alike. "Listen to me closely. Francis was weak and pathetic."

It was like a knife to Aurora's heart, harsh enough to make her face twist in shock. Her mother had not said his name since her brother had been banished. To hear her bad-mouth someone that Aurora had loved so much, was like a mortal injury.

"He got that from your father," her mother continued, ignoring the look of horror on her daughter's face. "But you," her mother grabbed her arms tightly, digging in fake, perfectly manicured nails into Aurora's skin. "You have _me_ in you. You aren't weak or pathetic like your brother or your father." Her mother pulled on her arms, bringing Aurora closer. "Don't be like them Aurora. Be better." And with that, her mother let go and took a few steps back before turning around and floating toward the kitchen.

That was the first time that Aurora knew, without a doubt, that Francis was not her mother's child. It was also the first time she realised that her mother was undeniably and unconditionally _crazy_.

~O~

Bucky went to the gym after he dropped Aurora home. He kept his breathing even, _in and out in and out_ , afraid that he was half on the verge of a panic attack. He literally could not believe that just happened. Was he about to wake up from a particularly cruel nightmare? Or was it a dream? He wasn't sure. Kissing her was a paragon of pleasure. It had his heart beating against his rib cage so hard he could barely breathe. But the fear in his stomach would not abate, the fear that he was doing something horribly wrong, that he was somehow taking advantage of her.

He went into the gym and attacked a punching bag until he was sweating and puffing. He wanted to scream. He was so frustrated. He wanted Aurora so badly it was physically painful. And now she was within his reach, right there at his fingertips. It was so easy to get caught up in her, in her scent and her smile and her beautiful, dark eyes. But now that he had some distance from her, had some perspective, things felt a little different.

He knew relationships between students and teachers weren't _specifically_ illegal in New York and that so long as Aurora was over 17 - which she was - what they were doing wasn't, technically, against the law. However, it was still very, _very_ frowned upon and if people found out he would more than likely lose his job. But it was more than that, even. His problem was with Aurora. What if he was pressuring her and he didn't even know it? What if he was manipulating her somehow?

He wanted to scream. He punched the bag in front of him so hard it nearly flew off the hook.

"What'd the bag ever do to you?"

Bucky flinched and turned to look at Steve, who was approaching him with a towel slung around his shoulders. He and Steve usually came to the gym around the same time every day, but it was still a bit of a coincidence to run into him when they hadn't arranged anything.

 _First finding Aurora on the side of the road, now this. Today's just full of coincidences._

Bucky turned back to the punching bag and continued to hit it.

Steve watched him with a worried expression. "What's going on Buck?"

Bucky ignored him.

Steve sighed. For a few minutes the only sound was the smashing of Bucky's fists against the red bag.

Then he stopped, puffing and turned to his best friend with his eyes downcast.

"C'mon, Buck. Tell me what's up," the apprehension in Steve's voice was evident. Bucky didn't mean to worry him, hated the burden that he often placed on his friend when Steve had enough issues of his own. But he knew Steve didn't mind.

As he began to undo the tape around his hands, Bucky spoke. "You remember that girl that I told you about awhile ago?" Bucky said, his voice low. It wouldn't be hard for Steve to remember; she was literally the only girl Bucky had mentioned since getting back from the war.

Steve's eyebrows furrowed for a moment, thinking back, but he quickly recalled their conversation months previous. "Yeah I remember. Did something happen? I didn't know you were even still talking to her."

"Yeah," Bucky gritted his teeth. "Yeah something happened." He winced, letting out a breath. "Shit Stevie…I shouldn't have let anything happen." His shoulders slumped with defeat.

"Hey," Steve gripped his shoulder, the right one, and pushed Bucky back a bit so he could look him in the eye. "Listen to me, Buck. I don't know what's going on between you and her, but whatever it is…so long as it isn't hurting anyone else, then you should just let yourself be happy, ok? God knows you deserve it."

Bucky looked at his kind-hearted friend. _Did_ he deserve it? He wasn't sure, but then again, Steve Rogers was anything but a liar.

"She does make me happy," Bucky admitted softly and she did. Aurora made him feel happier than he had felt since he'd gotten back.

"Then stop beating yourself up over it," Steve said. "You make things so complicated."

Bucky snorted in contempt at that. "Oh please, you're Drama Queen 101. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black."

"Oh really?" Steve bumped his shoulder against his friend's. "You prepared to back up that statement with fists?"

Bucky barked out a laugh. "Whatta you think Rogers? Damn straight I am, Mr Drama Queen."

Bucky went home that night feeling much better. Steve was right - so long as his relationship with Aurora wasn't hurting anyone, then what was the harm?

He knew it wasn't truly that simple, but still. He just had to make sure that it was completely what she wanted, that he wasn't somehow pressuring her into anything.

As he lay in bed that night, he thought about the way she had looked right after he pulled away from kissing her, when her dark eyes were still hooded, her lips parted and swollen. She was the only thing in the world that he wanted. He just had to make sure that she wanted him back.

~O~

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it's been awhile for this update, but here's the next chapter! I hope you all enjoy!

I'm loving writing this story and I really love the relationship between Aurora and Bucky. I think they're a really unique and complicated couple who have very, very different backgrounds, different past experiences and different personalities. I also think they have different motives for going into their relationship with one another (Bucky almost needs it, needs Aurora because he is sort of fixated on her and because she's the only girl that he has really connected with physically and emotionally in a really long time. Aurora on the other hand really wants an escape from her parents and her life, a safe place where she can just relax and feel comfortable, as well as some excitement and something that's all her own now that she's in an unfamiliar city. I think she's really looking for somewhere to belong in this new place that she's been thrust into, because before in Portland she really knew her place and now she's really 'searching'. But yeah anywaysss).

Sorry about the long note. PLEASE leave a review? I'll love you forever.

Love you all anyway x mwah


	10. The Story of Her Life

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for a bit of a wait on this chapter, I'll try and get another one up in a week or earlier. Enjoy!

~O~

The whole morning shopping with Wanda, Aurora felt ready to burst. She wanted so badly to gush to her friend about Mr Barnes- _Bucky_. But she knew she couldn't. She could never tell Wanda how he made her heart flutter and pound in her chest, or how he comforted her, or how his apartment made her feel as safe as being in his arms. She couldn't say a word. And it damn near killed her.

When she got home, she went straight to her room to re-check her hair and makeup before Bucky arrived to pick her up. She debated on changing clothes, but figured that her short, maroon jumpsuit would do. She charged her phone quickly before snatching it up and heading for the door. And she nearly even made it.

"Where are you going? Didn't you just get back?" Her mother's voice cut her escape plan in half.

The door was in reach. _So close._

"I'm going back out again. I'll be home later. Call if you need anything," Aurora didn't bother turning around as she spoke, before reaching forward and yanking open the door and quickly slipping out before her mother could say any more. She had had a good morning with Wanda, despite her troubles with having to keep secrets from the girl, and she planned on having a good afternoon with Bucky; she didn't want her mother ruining that.

She went down to the back carpark and three minutes later Bucky's now-familiar car pulled up. She smiled as soon as she saw him, a burst of nerves exploding in her stomach. She glanced over her shoulder before sliding inside.

"Hey," she said on a breath, looking him over. He looked gorgeous, as always, in just a long-sleeved t-shirt and jeans.

He was looking at her as well, although his eyebrows were furrowed a little with worry. "Hey," he echoed, his own eyes sweeping briefly over her. "Are you ok?" He gulped, shifting to face her more. "After yesterday."

She assumed he meant her fight with her mother, but it was possible he also meant the two of them, what had happened between them. "I'm fine," she assured him, because it was her default response. It wasn't until the words had left her mouth that she realised she didn't _have_ to be fine, not with him.

He nodded, looking like he didn't quite believe her. "And you're…" He paused, unsure. "You're still sure about this?… About us?" He sounded apprehensive and her heart contracted in her chest.

"Yeah," she said quietly. "I'm sure." And she was; she wanted to keep feeling the way he made her feel and ever since the day before she had been craving his touch desperately.

He studied her for a few moments, then a smile slowly stretched his lips. "Good. So am I."

As they drove toward his apartment, he asked, "What did your mum say after you got home yesterday?"

Aurora glanced down, pursing her lips. "She uh…" She trailed off, closing her eyes momentarily and remembering the horrible way in which her mother had spoken about her brother. "Can we not talk about it?" She said, looking up and over at him. "I don't want to think about it right now."

His eyebrows furrowed, like he didn't really agree with the coping mechanism of 'ignore it until it goes away', but it was one that he was horribly guilty of himself, so he let it slide. "Yeah, of course."

He asked about her day and she told him about her shopping trip with Wanda. When they arrived at his apartment complex, Bucky got out and hurried around to open her door for her. She grinned a little at that and took his offered hand. It was their first physical contact of the day, and she clung to his hand all the way up the stairs of his building.

When they got into his apartment, she once again felt that immediate sense of comfort that comes from being _home_. Which was strange, really, considering she'd only been in his apartment once before and it had only been for a few short hours. But still, it made her feel warm inside and soothed, like the aura of the whole place was just _good_.

"Do you want something to eat?" He offered, throwing his keys into a bowl and kicking his shoes off.

She hummed for a moment, deliberating. "Maybe in a bit? I ate with Wanda."

He nodded his agreement and sunk down onto the couch. She looked at him for a moment - he was _so_ handsome, especially when he was at ease in his own home - before sitting down next to him. They fell into an easy chatter, talking about school and college and avoiding too serious topics like the plague.

They got onto the subject of Portland and Aurora got a wistful glint in her eyes. She had spoken to her old best friend, Willow, two days previous, and it had made her miss home even more than usual.

"Did you uh...Did you have a boyfriend there?" Bucky asked, trying to sound nonchalant, un-intrusive. It didn't quite work, but Aurora didn't really mind.

"Yeah," she said, looking down to where her leg was folded up on the couch and pressing against his. "Yeah I did. But we ended it before I came here."

He frowned at that, looking away for a moment. "I'm sorry."

She shrugged. "It happens."

"How long were you two together?"

She knew he wasn't trying to be nosy, only curious to get to know her better. "About six months. He was nice, I guess."

Bucky's eyebrows furrowed. "You guess?"

She shrugged, although her heart was tugging in her chest. "He didn't interest me that much." It was a lie; blatant and painful. She'd been half in love with Dylan Lux when she had been ripped from Portland and away from him. But pretending that she didn't feel as much as she did made it easier to pretend the pain wasn't a constant reminder of what she had lost. She wasn't one to drown in her sorrows. Best to ignore them until they went away.

But Bucky was frowning at her and he shifted a little, turning to face her more. "Do _I_ interest you?" He questioned, eyes intently staring at her, awaiting her response.

 _Shit._ She'd gotten herself into a bit of a situation, but Aurora could handle it. When you grow up with parents like hers, diplomacy becomes a second language at a very young age. "I wouldn't be here if you didn't."

However, his frown only deepened at that and he sighed, pulling his leg away from hers and putting a few inches between their bodies. "Aurora this…What we're doing is serious. In some states of America, I could go to jail for this. I would definitely lose my job and you'd probably be expelled."

Aurora's throat went dry and her expression darkened. She knew the repercussions of what they were doing, but when he said it like that it sounded so…real.

When he saw her face he reached out and grasped her hand, holding it tightly in his. "I'm not saying that to try and scare you," he assured her, his tone gentler than before. "But this is serious for me. I want you to know that. If this is just some fling for you, something to pre-occupy you because you're bored or something, then you need to tell me now. I don't want us going into this thinking it's two different things."

That made Aurora think, _really_ think. She knew this was serious, but she hadn't really thought about it like that. So she sat in silence for a few moments, mulling it over as he stared at her, a little anxiety seeping through his expression.

 _Am I serious about this? I have to be sure._ She looked at his handsome face. _I don't want to hurt him. That's the last thing I want to do._

She wondered, briefly, if her infatuation in him would fade, if she would get bored - like he said - and she would move on to one of the football players in her school team. It had happened before, more than once, with more than one boy at her old school. She would be absolutely besotted with a boy, she would go on a few dates with him, make out with him a few times and then the fire would dim. She would get bored and move on because above all Aurora did not like boredom. She wanted something exciting, exhilarating, someone who made her heart pump. Would she get bored of Bucky?

She thought of their kiss the day before, how she had felt right before he had leaned in and touched his lips to hers and how she had felt after, when fireworks had exploded throughout her body.

 _No,_ she decided, with only the certainty and conviction that a Prince girl could have after only moments of deliberation. _No I will most certainly not get bored of him or the way he makes me feel._

She met his gaze strongly, which had been studiously examining her face whilst she thought. "This is serious to me too," she said confidently. "I mean it. I've never felt like this before…not with anyone."

He let out a long breath, sinking back into the couch with relief. His hand slid up her wrist, his thumb brushing over her skin softly. "Good."

The amount that he clearly cared, already, made her heart contract in her chest. She bit her lip and shifted closer. His eyes snapped to her as she put her hand on his chest, slowly sliding it upward until she was cupping his cheek. She leaned forward, her eyes fluttering closed, before kissing him. Their lips met and he moaned aloud at just that small touch. Her heart was immediately in a frenzy, her pulse quickening to a frantic rate. Arousal burst through her, making her whole body feel hot. She deepened the kiss as his arms wound around her, pulling her onto his lap. She could feel he was already hard through his pants and God it just made her even more turned on. Their tongues tangled together, the kiss turning just this side of desperate. Her fingers went to his hair, running through it and curling into the strands as he wrapped his arms around her, pressing their chests flush together.

When her lungs screamed for air, she pulled back gasping. Her skin was a fallen power line, frayed and exposed and his touch was the spark that ignited it, that made it explode in fragments of white and blue light.

His fingers tangled in her hair and he tugged it, tilting her head back before his lips connected with her throat. He sucked and bit and nipped his way down to her collarbone before rocking his hips up into hers and making her gasp in pleasure, her fingernails biting into his shoulders. His hands travelled up and down her back before dipping lower and cupping her ass. He pulled her against him and she ground down to try and relieve some of the pressure building up inside of her. Hands were grasping, pulling, clawing. Their lips met again harshly, Bucky's teeth sinking into her lip and causing her to whimper. She rolled her hips against his again and they both moaned at the same time, their voices mixing together with their heavy breathing, with the wet sound of lips against each other.

Bucky managed to pull back and open his eyes long enough to look at her. She looked like a beautiful wreck; her usually perfect hair a mess, her lips swollen and her pupils blown wide with lust. He'd never seen something so beautiful in his life. "Maybe," he gasped out, moaning at another roll of her hips, "Maybe we should slow down."

Aurora grimaced, much too turned on to stop now. "I have a much better idea," she smirked, before dragging her lips across his jaw and then pushing off of his lap, sidling down his body to kneel in front of him.

"Oh God," he groaned at the sight of her on her knees, peering up at him through her thick eyelashes, those dark eyes more lustful than ever. Her hands slid under his t-shirt, trailing down his toned stomach for a moment before she grasped his belt and began undoing it. He squeezed his eyes closed for a second before shifting his hips forward to allow her better access. She got the button and fly of his jeans and quickly undid them, before tugging his pants and underwear down to his knees. He lifted his hips to allow her. His member sprang free, curving slightly up toward his stomach. For a few moments she just looked; it was bigger than her previous boyfriend's had been, by a fair amount.

It was only then that nerves began exploding in her stomach. It wasn't like this was particularly new to her, but she knew that Bucky (looking the way he did) had to be ridiculously experienced in the sex department. What if he thought she was crappy?

With a renowned sense of anxiety, she reached out and wrapped a hand around him. When he moaned in response to even that simple touch, some of her apprehension faded. She slowly pulled her hand up and down his length before leaning forward and taking him into her mouth. His hand went to her hair, tangling in it gently, like he wasn't entirely sure he was allowed to. It reassured her - he was a little apprehensive about all of this as well.

She bobbed her head up and down, up and down, twisting her hands at the base as she did so. His grip on her hair slowly began tightening, his fingers curling into her scalp as he began to guide her. His hips jerked up a bit as he groaned in pleasure. Then he pulled her up, her lips popping off of his erection so that he could kiss her messily. His lips met hers harshly, his teeth scratching across her tongue as he sucked it into his mouth. She continued to pump her hand up and down as their lips tangled. She rubbed her legs together, where a wetness was gathering as her arousal continued to grow and grow. It only took a few more minutes and then, with a cry of her name and a sloppy kiss against her neck, he came, spilling over her hand and onto the bottom of his t-shirt.

They stayed like that, panting and messy, for a few solid minutes. Their foreheads were resting together, Aurora's lipstick non-existent and Bucky's breathing harsh and shallow.

"Jesus Rora," he eventually breathed before pressing his lips to hers briefly, but passionately. He reached behind her, his chest pressing against hers briefly, and grabbed a box of tissues that were lying on the coffee table. He snatched some out and wiped the cum away from her hand, before hastily doing the same to his shirt. He pulled his underwear back up, but kicked his jeans off. She went to stand on slightly shaky legs but he growled under his breath and quickly wrapped his arms around her, pulling her down to his lap. "Where do you think you're goin'?" He muttered, breath fanning over her neck as he ran his hands up her back. She put her own hands on his shoulders, teeth sinking into her bottom lip as he kissed her collarbone.

Then, in one sudden movement, he had her on her back. He hovered over her, his strong, clothed arms bracketing each side of her head. He stroked her chin with his thumb and kissed her cheek before slowly moving one of his legs up between hers. He pushed his thigh against her wet heat, causing her to whimper and cling to him tightly. "Bucky," his name was gasped from her lips again and again as he slowly worked his way down her body, his hands sliding up and down her sides. One hand went down to rest on her upper thigh, his fingers brushing over the soft and sensitive skin. His hand crept up, up, until he was under the shorts of her jumpsuit. She arched her hips upward, desperate for his touch and he grinned against her skin as she raked her fingernails through his hair.

Just as his fingers were brushing across her soaked panties, the shrill and sudden noise of her cell phone ringing startled the couple. Bucky growled in utter irritation, reluctantly pulling his hands away as she sat up and snatched her loud phone from the coffee table. It was her dad.

Her eyebrows furrowed and she sighed in annoyance. "I'm sorry, i have to take this."

He pursed his lips and nodded, sitting up against the other end of the couch.

Aurora pressed answer and put the phone to her ear, standing up as she righted her clothes. It was unnecessary, really - it wasn't like her dad could see her through the phone - but nonetheless, it just felt wrong to speak to a family member with her clothes bunched up from a man's hands. "Father. What can I do for you?"

"Hello, Aurora. Your presence is needed at home. Where are you? I can pick you up," her father sounded pre-occupied, which was practically the story of her life. She imagined him, sending an email flagged 'important' to a colleague in China or booking his next flight to Korea for a 4 day trip with only two meetings actually scheduled. The story of her freaking life.

"I'm out with a friend. I can get my own way home - don't come and pick me up. Why am I needed, exactly?" She turned her back to Bucky, who was looking at her strangely, as if that would somehow keep him from hearing her conversation.

"We're taking the Yang's out for dinner tonight. Please don't tell me you forgot. They're only over from China for a few more days and I really need to close this deal with them. They have a son around your age remember? So wear something pretty."

Aurora glanced over her shoulder, praying that Bucky hadn't heard that last comment, but from the look on his face, he'd heard every word.

"I'll be home soon. I'll be ready on time, I promise," she said, although she felt a little sick in her stomach.

"Good. I hope you've been brushing up on your Mandarin." He didn't wait for her to reply, hanging up before she could get another word in.

She slowly lowered the phone, before turning around. "I'm sorry," she said, although she kept her tone neutral. "I have to go."

"Yeah I got that," he said, not meeting her gaze. Then he stood and his eyes locked with hers. "So what, your dad dresses you up and uses you as a tool to close deals?" His voice was bordering on angry and she felt nerves prick up in her stomach. She didn't want to make him angry; it, for some odd reason, reminded her that he was a teacher, made her feel like a student being scolded for being late to class.

"It's not like that," she said quietly, even though it was. It really, really was. Her father had done it more times than she could count, to not only her but her mother as well, and with not only boys Aurora's age, but older men. "But it's important. This dinner's been planned for awhile now and it's a big deal for my father. I just totally forgot. I've been...distracted." She'd been so caught up in her secret affair with Bucky, that she'd totally spaced on the dinner.

Bucky sighed, standing and slowly walking toward her. He reached out and curled his fingers around her hips, drawing her closer. His body heat wrapped around her as she gently placed her hands on his shoulders. "I don't like the thought of you leaving unsatisfied, when I finished and you didn't. I don't want you to think that that's what-"

"Hey," she cut him off, sliding her hands up to cup each side of his neck. "I'm the one that has to leave remember? Besides, you'll make it up to me."

He let out a long breath and nodded. "I will," he promised. "C'mon I'll drop you home."

A short while later they were pulling up in the back carpark of her skyrise building.

Aurora ran her fingers through her hair a few times to ensure it wasn't messy. Bucky was watching her closely, seemingly studying her with his intense gaze.

"I'm sorry I had to leave so suddenly," she said, saddened that their time together had been cut short because she clearly couldn't schedule things properly.

"It's alright," he said, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel absent mindedly. "I'll uh...I'll talk to you later?"

Aurora hid a small smile, her heart fluttering in her chest. She nodded. "Yeah. I'll call or text you."

"Ok," he murmured and hesitated only a second before leaning over and cupping her cheek. He brought her head closer to his before placing a soft kiss on her lips that left her whole body ringing. "Bye."

"Bye," she echoed quietly, before reluctantly departing the car. She could feel his gaze on her the whole way across the parking lot.

~O~

A/N: Hope you guys liked this chapter!

Please pleaseeee leave me a review short or long, positive or constructive! Would mean so much. Lots of love xxx


	11. Punchline

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry about the long wait on this chapter - hopefully the next chapter will be up sooner. But here you are! Please leave a review at the end if you can!

~O~

The dinner was tedious and the boy was too handsy and too unsubtle with his hungry stares. _And_ he didn't speak English. Her father closed the deal and they went home late, her mother slightly tipsy and Aurora more tired than anything.

They were walking through the front door when her father spoke, an almost accusing tint to his voice. "Where were you, Aurora? Before our dinner?"

The question caught Aurora so off guard that for a moment she froze. She couldn't remember the last time her father had actually ever asked a question about her life that didn't directly impact on him.

There was a pause, the silence laden with tense anticipation. "I was at a friend's house," Aurora replied smoothly, although the hesitation in her answer was not missed by any of the three occupants.

"Which friend?" Her father shrugged off his two thousand dollar jacket and hung it up, his piercing blue eyes staring at her, scrutinising.

"You don't know them," she shot back, taking off her own coat and folding it over her arm. "They're from school."

He stared at her for a moment and she felt her breathing getting heavier. Lying to her father had always been harder than to her mother, more daunting. It felt like he could see straight through her sometimes - only, a majority of the time he didn't even bother looking.

 _Does he know? Did he somehow see Bucky and I? No, no way,_ her mind raced.

His phone began ringing and he pulled it out of his pocket.

"Who is calling you at midnight?" Her mother demanded, beady eyes narrowing to slits as her father simply cast his wife a glance before answering the call. He turned his back and the scrutiny on Aurora was gone. She let out a relieved breath and trudged to bed.

~O~

It was the night before school went back and Aurora hadn't gotten to see Bucky since being pulled away from him for her father's dinner. They spoke on the phone a lot, but they both somehow seemed to be busy whenever the other was free. And Aurora was terribly nervous about how everything was going to play out at school. She had to pretend like she didn't know what he sounded like when he moaned her name or what his lips tasted like against her own. She had to pretend like he was just another teacher and she was just another one of his students. Aurora had always gotten straight A's in drama, but this was a stretch even for her acting skills.

She was just packing her bag for the next day when her phone rang. She smiled when she saw it was Bucky and quickly answered.

"Don't you have papers to grade? Boring Powerpoints to make?" She grinned, a side effect of talking to him.

"Very funny. I'm actually prepared and don't leave things till the night before. You're doing homework and packing your bag aren't you?" Was his snarky reply.

She chuckled; he was right. "Whatever. You're just boring."

"Oh really? Come outside," she could feel his smile through the phone.

Her breath caught in her throat, but she was already reaching for her jacket. "Bucky…"

"C'mon. I owe you something."

Butterflies erupted in her stomach. "I'm coming down now."

She slipped her phone into her pocket and quickly looked in the mirror. She ran her fingers through her dark hair a few times before sidling out of her bedroom silently. Her mother was cooking something smoky and her father was in at work - emergency with something to do with a merger.

She slipped out of the door quietly and was out in the carpark in no time. She scanned it and quickly spotted his charcoal car. She strode toward it, glancing over her shoulder to make sure her mother hadn't followed her. (She hadn't).

She pulled open the door and slid inside, immediately engulfed in warmth and the faint smell of Bucky.

She looked at him, so handsome and beautiful in that light, the moon shining in and illuminating his sharp jawline and soft lips.

Before she had the chance to say anything, he was kissing her, his hands on her body and in her hair. She was caught for a moment in surprise, before she was swiftly kissing him back, her hands fisting in his shirt and holding on for dear life.

One of his hands trailed down her side to grip at her thigh, pulling her closer to the console that separated the driver's seat from the passenger.

Their tongues tangled together and Aurora's arms found their way around his neck. When she finally pulled back, she was gasping for air and her lips were already swollen and possibly bruised.

"Well, hello to you too," she panted, carding her fingers slowly through his cropped hair.

"Sorry," he said unapologetically. He bit his bottom lip, looking her up and down with pure, unadulterated lust. "I just...missed you." Her heart warmed and fluttered at the statement. She'd missed him too, and not just his touch or his kisses, but him. Talking to him and seeing him.

And then, in one swift movement, he had pulled her over the console and onto his lap, one of his hands on her ass, the other wrapped firmly around her waist. His lips pressed again and again on her neck, her pulse point, her collarbone.

"Are we," she gasped out in between kisses. "Really going to do this in your car? In my apartment parking lot?"

He groaned into her skin, his fingers digging into her tightly. "Would that be so bad?"

"Do you want my dad to pull up at any minute?" She challenged as his hands travelled up beneath her dress. He grimaced, pulling back a bit. She chuckled a little. "What? Parent-teacher interview with your hands up my dress doesn't sound ideal?"

She meant it as a joke, but clearly he didn't see it that way. He looked at her a moment, eyebrows pulled down, annoyed. Then he lifted her back over to her seat, pulling his arms away from her, his expression darkening.

 _Shit. Well done Aurora._

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It's ok," he muttered. "You're right, we shouldn't be doing this here. It's just-... It's not a joke, Aurora. Me being your teacher isn't the punchline to some-"

"I know," she interrupted. "I do, alright? I was just trying to...I don't know...Make light of it, I suppose."

His response was a sigh and for a few moments they were both uncomfortably silent.

She didn't want to be fighting with him, not this soon into their little relationship and not right before school went back. This was still so new to her and she didn't want it to die so quickly. In an attempt to distract him from his annoyance, she reached over and quickly kissed him, pushing her hands under his shirt and grasping at bare skin. She tried to get lost in the kiss and the _feeling._

But he resisted, pulling away and holding her back. "Aurora enough."

For a moment she was stunned into just sitting there, blinking. He held her at arm's length, until his hands left her completely. Her cheeks began to burn with embarrassment.

He sighed, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. "I think maybe we should just call it a night. We have to get up early tomorrow."

For some odd reason, she felt tears prick her eyes. Was it the shame? Or the fact that she felt like they were fighting only days into this?

"Right," she breathed. She would not beg him to let her make it right or try and fix it. That would be pathetic and Aurora did _not_ go pathetic for boys. Prada handbags, maybe. But never boys. Perhaps they just needed a breather. "I guess I'll um...See you around." She opened the door.

"I'll call you," he said, which only made her feel a little better. She nodded and shut the car door.

He drove away before she even got inside.

~O~

Natasha kicked Bucky's ankle when he completely zoned out of the conversation for the eighth time that night. He jerked back to look at her, blinking to clear away his thoughts.

"What is going on with you?" She questioned in that sultry, 'no bullshit' voice of hers.

He rubbed at his eyes a moment. "Nothing. I'm fine. What were you saying?"

"Don't 'nothing' me. I'm not Steve, you don't get away with that crap," she cut right through him and he sighed. "You've been distracted all night - all week, actually." She paused and studied him a moment before continuing cautiously, with a hint of hesitation in her voice. "It looks like you haven't been sleeping that much. Has the insomnia come back?"

He shot her a withering glare, meant to shut the subject down as soon as possible. "No. It's fine." He answered shortly, when in reality the insomnia had never disappeared. But she didn't need to know that.

She sighed, her intense gaze flitting over his face, inspecting and calculating. "Then what? Steve may have mentioned that there's a girl..."

Bucky groaned, tipping his head back. "Steve needs to learn to shut his mouth."

"True," Natasha allowed. "But he can't lie for shit and I knew he was stewing about something. Spill. Who is she? Do I know her?"

"It's complicated," he mumbled.

"I have three degrees, all in which I graduated valedictorian. I'm sure I can keep up if you explain."

Bucky glared at her, but even his icy gaze didn't deter her. She simply stared at him with a raised eyebrow and a red curl around her finger. "Fine," he admitted defeat. "It's a girl I'm not supposed to be with for a lot of good reasons. And now I think we're fighting."

"What did you fight about?"

"About...us not being able to be together," he wanted to pull at his hair in frustration. "She made a stupid joke about it and I blew it way out of proportion."

Natasha rolled her eyes. "You're as much a drama queen as Steve is." She shifted closer to him, facing him completely. "It's simple, James. If you like her - I mean really like her - you'll figure it out. Whether you're supposed to be together or not, whether she makes stupid comments. All that matters is how she makes you feel and how you make her feel."

Bucky studied her for a few moments in silence. "You know, you really should have given being a psychologist another shot, I mean honestly-"

"Oh shut up Barnes, pour me another drink."

~O~

A/N: Hey guys! I know this chapter was a little short but the next will be coming up! Aww Aurora and Bucky had their first fight. Hopefully they make up soon!

Please leave a review and tell me what you think! I love you all!


	12. A War Hero

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry about the wait on this chapter and I'm not going to lie, there is a possibility on a wait on the next chap as well - sorry! I'm just so busy at the moment. But I promise if lots of you review and encourage me I will work extra hard to get the next chapter out a lot sooner! Please enjoy!

~O~

3 cups of coffee, one too-long shower and a late wake up led to Aurora rushing to school the next morning. Her head was all over the place, what with her nightmare of a meeting with Bucky the previous night. But when she walked through those front gates, the deceptively happy smile went on and her shoulders went back.

"Aurora!" Betty hugged her like they were long-lost lovers, her clique of girls smiling and waving obediently behind her. "How was your Christmas?"

"It was-"

"Did you hear?" The blonde vixen interrupted before Aurora could reply. "Victoria's boyfriend cheated on her over winter break when they were vacationing in Tuscany and, yes it was only one little kiss, but a kiss is a kiss. She's considering giving him a second chance - which is, of course, ridiculous. You agree with me don't you, A?"

Aurora blinked at the Queen B before turning to Victoria.

The words ' _you should do whatever you think is right, if you want to stay with him then you should'_ were ready on her tongue, but then she looked at Betty, staring at her expectantly.

Aurora gulped. She took a breath. And then she did something she never thought she would do; she gave way. "Betty's right, Victoria. Break up with him. A kiss is still a kiss." Immediately some terrible feeling washed over Aurora. _What are you thinking?_ She berated herself. _Since when do you cave to girls like Betty Lockwood?_

Betty's pretty face stretched into a wide grin. "Exactly. I told you Victoria. Betty always knows best."

~O~

In between third and fourth period, she saw him for the first time that day and the first time at school since they had gotten together. She was leaning against her locker with Betty, Allison, Victoria and Isabella.

Bucky had his shoulder bag slung over him, his button up shirt just tight enough to see the clear muscle defintion of his body. He was walking down the hall, his usual semi-scowl in place. Their eyes met, the scowl fell, and time slowed.

She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to hug him. She wanted to walk up to him and at least _talk_ to him.

She could do _none_ of the above.

What _could_ she do? Watch as he clenched his jaw, as his hand tightened on the strap of his bag and as he walked away without a glance back.

For a second, Aurora could not breathe.

Then time sped up again and she was yanked back to reality by Betty's hand on her shoulder. "A, what's wrong?"

Aurora looked up. "Oh, nothing." Betty's eyes flicked to the retreating form of Mr Barnes and for a moment Aurora thought she saw the gears in Betty's head clunking away, but then the Blonde Bitch™ was smiling again and speaking.

"So, call me archaic and out-of-date, but I think us girls need a weekend away. A nails-and-hair-and-champagne kind of weekend to prepare us for the term ahead. We could take the jet up to the chateau in Montreal. It'll be fun. You girls in?" She was talking to the whole little group, but her eyes were focussed on Aurora. Something told Rora that Betty had already asked the other girls.

"Sounds perfect," Aurora agreed. "It's exactly what I need." _To get away_.

~O~

Sitting through Economics was damn near unbearable. Watching him and listening to him and being treated exactly the same as every other student was harder than Aurora had expected. The class dragged on and when the bell finally rang everyone rushed out, eager to get home after a long first day back.

Aurora hovered, slowly packing up her books to stall time.

"You coming, slow poke?" Wanda bumped her shoulder against her friend's. Rora glanced down at Mr Barnes, who was packing up his laptop.

"I have to ask a couple of questions. I'll text you later," Aurora promised and Wanda smiled and left with the rest of the class.

Aurora slung her bag over her shoulder and slowly made her way down the steps until she was standing in front of his desk. Nerves swirled inside of her, so intense that she nearly turned around and walked out without saying a word. He still hadn't looked up at her - intentionally, she was sure.

She glanced over her shoulder once, to make sure that absolutely no one else was in the classroom, before saying softly, "Hey."

He paused packing up his laptop and finally looked up at her. He took in a deep breath and for a moment she thought maybe he might ignore her completely, try and pretend that whatever had happened over the holidays between them meant nothing or that it hadn't happened at all. The thought scared her.

"Hey," He finally said and some of the tension bled out of her shoulders.

"I'm really sorry about what I said last night," she said, hesitating only a moment before reaching out and placing her hand over his, where it was resting on the desk. However, her stomach sank when he quickly pulled it away, craning his head to peer out the window on the door that led to the hallway to check if anyone was there.

"We can't do this here," he said.

Aurora gulped, stuffing her hands into her jacket pockets. "Right, of course. Maybe we could go back to your place?"

Before he even replied, Aurora knew he was going to refuse. "I have lesson plans to do and I'm going to the gym with Steve. I can't tonight, sorry."

She sighed and shook her head slightly, annoyed. _I made one stupid little joke and now he'll barely say a word to me. Great._

"Whatever," she muttered under her breath and turned to leave. She heard him let out a long breath and she was at the stairs when he stopped her.

"Rora wait," he walked toward her as she turned slowly, readjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder. He glanced again out into the hallway briefly before reaching out for her, placing his hands on her arms and drawing her close toward him. "I'm sorry."

"You're getting cold feet," She stated matter-of-factly, because Aurora was nothing if not brave and bold. "If you don't want to do this anymore, if you've changed your mind, then we can just forget this happened and go back to how we were before."

He pursed his lips, his thumb stroking her skin. "I don't want that. I couldn't just forget all of this and go back to how everything was before. I could never do that - I couldn't pretend that... That I don't feel this way about you."

She looked down, chewing the inside of her lip. Her dark eyelashes dusted her rosy cheeks for a moment as her eyes closed. "I couldn't do that either," she admitted, very quietly. He reached down and kissed her on the cheek, his lips lingering on her soft, smooth skin.

"What if I pick you up Saturday? We can spend the whole day together _and_ do some of your Russian homework," he suggested and Aurora immediately smiled, more than glad that they were back on amicable terms.

"Yeah, that sounds grea-" She stopped herself and cringed, as she remembered her plans for the upcoming weekend. His eyebrows furrowed. "Actually, I can't this weekend. I'm going on a spa trip with Betty and the girls to Montreal."

"Montreal?" He questioned incredulously.

"Yeah, it's a long story...Actually it's not really; Betty is ridiculously rich and owns a private jet and a chateau in Canada's second most populous municipality," Aurora explained satirically.

He chuckled a little, but it was only half-hearted. "Right," he nodded. "I noticed you guys hanging out a bit." He looked thoughtful, his tongue darting out to wet his bottom lip. "Look Rora, just..watch out for Betty ok?"

Aurora blinked at him a moment before taking a step back. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It just means that… I know girls like her. I've seen them go through here and I dated them in high school," he said. "Trust me, they're bad news. And there was some drama with her and her boyfriend and another girl last year. It all ended really messily. It's not worth it. You're better off hanging out with girls like Wanda. Good influences."

Aurora looked at him like possibly he'd grown another head. _Did he just tell me who to hang out with?_

The words ' _you sound like my father_ ' were on the tip of her tongue but she quickly bit them back. He didn't sound like her father, not really - her father would never care about her personal life enough to actually give her advice. He sounded like-...well, he sounded like her teacher. A teacher that was just trying to look out for her.

"Um...thanks for the advice. But I've dealt with girls like Betty before and she's actually quite nice. I've got it under control," she said tightly. He gave her a disbelieving look but before he could reply Aurora continued. "I better get going. Maybe we can hang out one day this week after school?"

"Yeah, I'll talk to you later," he sounded mildly disappointed that she hadn't taken his advice. But Aurora didn't want 'advice' from her boyfriend (was he her boyfriend?). If she wanted that, she'd go to the school councillor.

She nodded and began backing away. When she finally reached the first step, she turned and made her way up them. When she glanced back at the top, right before exiting, he was still standing, gazing at her, his hands stuffed in his pant pockets and looking like the most gorgeous person she'd ever seen, the sun reflecting in through the windows and bouncing on his olive skin. _He looks like a war hero,_ she thought, right before remembering that he was, in fact, just that. She smiled a little and walked out.

~O~

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this! I know that it's short, but I promise the next should be longer.

Please leave a review and encourage me to keep writing! I love you all and will talk to you soon x


	13. Older Guys

That Wednesday afternoon Aurora met Bucky in the school library to study for her Russian class. They sat in a booth in the back corner, away from the librarian and other kids. Although it was only the first week back, Hillbrook Crest did not waste time in swamping the seniors in work and Aurora had more homework than she could keep up with. But, despite this, she could not for the life of her concentrate. Bucky's leg was pressed against hers and his chest rumbled as he spoke quick, fluent Russian to her. She sat with her chin resting on her hand, gazing at him instead of the sheet in front of them.

"So tell me how you would translate this sentence," Bucky's switch back to English managed to at least slightly snap her out of her reverie.

"Um...What?"

Bucky sighed. "Rora, are you even listening?"

She grimaced, running her fingers through her hair. "How am I supposed to concentrate on Russian literature when I'm sitting right next to you?" She glanced over her shoulder swiftly before leaning closer, nuzzling into his neck.

"Aurora," He groaned lowly in warning as her hand slid onto his leg. "We can't do this here."

"Well maybe we should move this back to your place," she suggested quietly.

He shifted a little as his arousal levels spiked, but he refused to act like a teenager.

"We're in the library. Finish your study," he said in a stern voice. She eyed him in annoyance for a moment before sighing and moving back. She glanced down at the paper.

" _Sovetskiy Soyuz sygral reshayushchuyu rol' v pobede Vtoroy mirovoy voyny_ ," she said after barely a moments thought.

"What?" He was shifting uncomfortably. _Now who's distracted?_

"The translation. That's how you translate it," she prompted. He half smiled proudly and she considered it a victory.

~O~

On Friday afternoon Aurora slipped into Bucky's classroom right after school ended. She was meeting Betty and the other girls at the blonde's house a bit later, but she wanted to say goodbye to Bucky before she went away for the whole weekend.

She went through the door and opened her mouth to announce her presence, but stopped short when she found her psychology teacher, Miss Romanoff, also in the room with Bucky. She was sitting on his desk and he was standing close, her knees almost touching him. He was laughing begrudgingly at something she said, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Um…"

He abruptly stopped laughing and they both turned their gazes onto Aurora. She felt a blush creep up her neck.

His eyes widened a little before his expression quickly fell stoic. "Miss Prince. What can I help you with?"

Aurora's jaw clenched and she suddenly loathed the pretences they had to maintain. "Uh...It was just some questions regarding the homework. I can ask you on Monday though," she turned to leave but Bucky quickly stopped her.

"No, it's fine. I want you to get it done before Monday's lesson," he glanced at Miss Romanoff, who looked at him slightly quizzically, but swiftly took her cue. She slid off the desk and sauntered past him, toward Aurora.

"Have a good weekend, Aurora," she smirked, although, as always, it was somewhat predatory.

"You too, Miss Romanoff," Aurora smiled as well, and on a lesser person it may have looked forced.

Once the redhead had exited the room, Aurora sighed, her shoulders slumping a little as she made her way down toward him.

"Hey," Bucky smiled a little, but his eyebrows were furrowed. "It's kind of dangerous, you coming in here like that."

Aurora crossed her arms, defensive. "What if I actually needed help with my homework? I am still your student you know."

Bucky's eyebrows pulled down even further. "Trust me, I can't forget it. _Do_ you need help with your homework? You usually find economics a breeze."

Aurora rolled her eyes. "Of course I don't need help. Economics is my easiest subject. I'm just saying it is a possibility." She glanced over her shoulder. "Are you guys like...friends or something?"

He looked at her a little incredulously. "What, are old people not allowed to have friends?"

"I didn't say that," she protested. "You're not _that_ old."

He chuckled a little, turning back to rifle through some papers on his desk. "Gee, thanks."

She walked forward to rest a hand on the cool wood surface of his work space. "But you're... _just_ friends with her...right?"

He paused and looked up at her and a little knowing smirk came over his features. He glanced out the small window on the door before walking around the desk and reaching out for her. His hands rested on her hips and he drew her toward his body. She melted into him, her hands resting on his chest.

"Aurora, the only person I have wanted in a very long time," he reached down and gently kissed her cheek. "Is you."

She felt relief flood her system - she knew he wasn't lying, could feel it in the almost desperate way he clutched her, in the passionate look in his eyes.

"I just...sometimes I feel like I don't know all that much about you," she admitted quietly.

"I know," he murmured, reaching up to tuck some of her hair behind her ear. He paused, before his eyes lit up. "I should have done this before but…" He stepped back, looking serious and nearly...excited. "Aurora, will you go on a date with me? A proper date, to a nice restaurant, where you wear a dress and heels?"

Her eyes widened and her mouth opened. She felt excitement burst in her stomach. "But what if someone saw us?"

"I'll take us some place quiet, I promise. Trust me, your Upper-east side friends don't frequent Brooklyn or Queens."

She grinned, big and real. "Ok," she agreed. She suddenly wished she wasn't going away on the weekend so that they could go on their date sooner rather than later. "Ok, I'm in. Next Friday night, one week from today?"

He groaned, slowly wrapping his arms all the way around her and burying his face in her neck. "Do I really have to wait that long?" He breathed into her skin.

Her stomach was a butterfly cage, with thousands of the insects fighting to get out, making her heart beat like the rapid fire of a gun.

She leaned back so she could look at him and their eyes met. She knew that it was dangerous, that they were in the school and, although unlikely on a Friday afternoon, it was totally possible for someone to walk in on them. But, around Bucky Barnes, her body seemed to have much more control than her lust-addled mind.

She kissed him, soft but somewhat desperate. Their tongues tangled together and that familiar, but not at all dulled sensation ignited throughout her body. Everytime she kissed him was like touching him for the first time; beautiful and enigmatic, shockingly intense whilst somehow remaining soft and pure. It was something she had never experienced before in her life and, at the young age of 17, she fully believed that she would never experience it again.

She slowly pulled back, sighing contently as his hands ran up and down her back. "I should go," she whispered, careful not to break the atmosphere that surrounded them. He reluctantly nodded. "I'll see you soon," she promised and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. He smiled lightly before she turned and walked away. For the first time in a long time, she hoped the weekend would go by fast.

~O~

The bubbling water of the hot tub was the perfect temperature, warm enough that even in their skimpy bikinis they weren't the least bit chilly, but not so hot that it would make them flush unattractively. Allison was telling a story about a boy she had hooked up with at a party whilst the girls listened attentively. Aurora wanted to be a good friend and listen, but in all honesty she couldn't have cared less.

She was picking at her nails when Betty spoke up. "Aurora, speaking of boys - or should I say me - do you have anything going on?"

Aurora looked up, eyeing Betty. The blonde looked innocent enough, but Aurora knew all too well that her intentions weren't in the least bit pure. "What do you mean by that 'men' comment?" Aurora queried, her voice bordering on icy.

Betty raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Just something I heard around school; that you might go for older men."

Aurora knew for a fact that that was not something she had simply heard around school, because nobody had any reason to think that she would ever go for older guys. More than likely, it was something Betty herself had come up with. It made Aurora nervous, considering her current relationship with Bucky. There's no way Betty could know about it, Aurora consoled herself. She's grasping for straws. Shut it down now and nothing will come of it.

"Don't get me wrong - I'd certainly go for college boys, but unless they're Brad Pitt, I wouldn't go older than 21," Aurora replied nonchalantly and the girls, bar Betty, giggled. Betty was levelling her with an unbelieving stare. She needed to be convinced, fully. Aurora would not let this get out of hand and risk her relationship with Mr Barnes, it was simply too important to her. "But, I'm glad you asked, because I wanted to tell you girls. There could be something with Pietro. I'm pretty sure he's going to ask me out soon." It was a lie, of course, although Aurora supposed it wasn't entirely untrue. It seemed obvious that Pietro was into her, even if she didn't reciprocate the feelings. Allison, Victoria and Isabella squealed excitedly and began firing questions at her, but Betty and Aurora's gazes were locked in a Cold War. Betty looked like she was wondering whether to believe Aurora or not, but it seemed that somehow Rora had managed to convince her, because she finally smiled and relaxed a little, seemingly satisfied with the answer.

"I noticed he'd been pretty touchy with you lately. Guess I was wrong about the older male thing," Betty hummed thoughtfully. Aurora sighed internally. Crisis averted - for now.

~O~

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry on the wait on this chapter - I want to say the next will come quicker, but unfortunately it's not likely at this point. I'll try and get it out ASAP though! Hope you enjoyed this.

Please leave a review and tell me what you think!

Love you all xoxo


	14. Maybe

A/N: Hey guys! I'm so bad, I'm sorry! It's been Over a month since I updated - I'm sorry my loves! I'll try and get the next update out a bit quicker, but unfortunately no promises. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this lil chapter! Lots of love xx

~O~

The cool air nipped at Aurora's sun-kissed skin and gently fluttered through her thin, emerald silk nightgown. All the other girls were asleep in their various rooms. Aurora was sharing a bed with Victoria - Betty was the only one that got her own room.

Aurora stood on one of the many balconies that jutted out of the stone chateau, overlooking thousands of clusters of tall, golden trees and, beyond them, the silhouette of a city that she'd never explored. It was beguiling, but made her sad in a lot of ways. There were so many cities in the world and each one had its own kind of beauty and, chances were, she'd only get to experience a handful of them. Her life seemed too small and the world too big.

She wanted to talk to Bucky. Her phone was in her hand and she wondered if, subconsciously, she'd planned to ring him from the moment she'd slipped out of bed, trying not to disturb Victoria.

She dialled his number and pressed the expensive smartphone to her ear. He answered right before it went to message bank.

"Did I wake you?" She was whispering, although she wasn't sure why. The girls were a whole hallway away, although they felt more like a world apart.

"No," he said, also quietly. "I was already awake."

Silence. Aurora liked the quiet between them. It was settling and contented. It was the silence of two people who simply liked each other's company, even if they were miles and miles apart.

"It's really beautiful here," she finally said.

"I've never been to Canada," he admitted. "I've never really been anywhere."

She frowned. "That's not true. You went some places with the military didn't you?"

He fell quiet and Aurora wondered if she should have kept her mouth shut about it.

When he next spoke, his voice was whispy and faraway, like his mind was distant from their conversation. "I didn't see anything beautiful in the military. There was nothing beautiful to see - not really, not where I was."

Aurora gulped around a sudden lump in her throat. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologise," he said and she knew he wasn't annoyed with her. They were quiet for a little longer. "Why are up so late?"

Aurora picked at a small strip of peeling paint. "I don't know...I just feel out of place here. Like a china doll crammed into a plastic doll house."

She wanted to be with him, next to him, in his arms. She wanted him to be kissing her in that horribly breath-taking way he did, to be touching her in that pleasure-gasping manner. She wanted to feel his hot breath on her neck and his lips on her throat, his hands on her legs and then her hips…

She let out a shaky breath.

"What are you thinking about?" He murmured.

She bit her lip, her cheeks warm with colour despite the cool air. "You," she admitted and gulped on a suddenly parched throat. "You touching me."

There was a brief pause on the other end of the line. Then, Bucky groaned quietly. "Rora…"

She leaned down and pressed her forehead against the cool veranda railing. "I know," she breathed. "I just can't stop thinking about you."

 _Maybe I'm obsessed,_ she thought worriedly. She tried to think back to how it had felt to be with her last boyfriend - whilst she had cared for him, very much, it had never been like this. Her mind was brimming with Bucky and her chest ached at being so far away from him. Almost definitely, it was unhealthy.

In a half-hearted attempt to divert her attention, she asked, "Why are _you_ up so late?"

He didn't answer for a little bit, but when he did his voice was hesitant and thick with emotion. "Sometimes...sometimes it's hard to sleep. Sometimes it's hard to even close my eyes."

Worry rushed through Aurora and her eyebrows pulled down. "Why?" She questioned softly.

He let out a shaky breath. "I wasn't in the military all that long compared to a lot of people...but I did some bad things Aurora," his voice was broken and she had the distinct feeling that he did not talk about this with many people. "I killed people. People who didn't always necessarily deserve it. I can't ever forget that."

She didn't realise that she was silently crying until a tear splattered onto the white of the railing.

"Bad things happened to me," he admitted. "But maybe I deserved them, all things considered."

She hiccupped a little and wiped furiously at her cheeks. "Aurora?" he sounded alarmed. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"Don't say that," she managed to get out. "Don't say that you deserved any of the crap that happened to you. That's not true."

"Rora...there's things you don't know about me..."

"It doesn't matter," she said firmly. "You're not a bad person Bucky...I just know it."

Bucky felt like his heart was fracturing in two. He hadn't felt that much overwhelming emotion in a long, long time. There were very few people in the world who truly believed that Bucky was a good person - Steve and Natasha pretty much populated the list - and so being able to add one more name mattered a whole lot to him and brought him one step closer to believing it himself.

"You mean a lot to me Aurora," he whispered, his voice as whispy as the wind.

Her heart swelled. "I know," she said. "I'll talk to you tomorrow Bucky."

After she hung up, she stared out over that city for a long, long time.

~O~

"How was your weekend with the Manhattan royalty?" Wanda questioned bitterly as she and Aurora flopped down onto Aurora's bed after a long Monday. Rora's parents were, again, both out at one of her father's many work dinners and thus they had the entire apartment to themselves.

"Don't be shitty," Aurora said as she leant back against the wall. She knew Wanda was a little jealous that Aurora hung out with Betty and her crew so much, but in all honesty Wanda had no reason to be. She was Aurora's best friend and she liked the strange girl much better than she liked the queen. "You know I would much prefer to hang out with you than them. But being nice to them is the path of least resistance. I just want to get through this year without mishap." _And considering my current relationship, that is going to be a mission in itself._

Wanda sighed and flipped onto her stomach to face her friend. "Fine. Whatever. Hang out with the bitches. Moving onto more interesting topics… I think my brother has a crush on you." Wanda smirked, but Aurora frowned.

"Yeah, I uh...I sort of guessed that."

Wanda's face fell. "What is it? I think he's under the impression that you like him back."

Aurora chewed her cheek and felt a bit guilty. "I know I'm flirty sometimes, but I didn't mean to lead him on. I'm just...I'm not really interested at the moment is all."

Wanda sat up, leaning forward a bit. "Why? I'm not going to lie, most of the girls in our school are half in love with him. You seemed into it."

"I guess I was at first but…" Aurora looked at her friend, at her dark auburn hair and honest eyes. She trusted Wanda, at least enough to tell her a partial truth. "To be honest...there's someone else."

Wanda looked taken aback at this. She stared at Aurora a moment, looking a little untrusting all of a sudden. Aurora knew that Wanda most likely felt a little betrayed - after all, Aurora was sure that if Wanda started up something with a boy, she would be the first to know.

"Really?"

"Yeah, it kind of crept up on me," Aurora admitted.

"Who is it?" Wanda looked cautious now and it made Aurora upset. She didn't want her closest friend to be upset with her.

"He's older, you don't know him. That's why I didn't tell you - or anyone for that matter. My parents wouldn't approve of an older guy," she explained.

"A college boy?" Wanda quickly dismissed her annoyance in favour of excitement. Aurora's stomach churned. If only.

"No, actually, he's...older than that."

Her friend's eyebrows furrowed. "How old? He's not married, is he?"

"No, God," Aurora sunk down into her bed. "He's...he's old enough that it would be considered a little...unconventional, is all."

"And that's why you're not into my brother?" Wanda continued.

Aurora shrugged. "I guess so."

"So...what's his name?"

Aurora shook her head. "I'm not supposed to say. I just...wanted to tell you."

"You can't even tell me his name?" She questioned incredulously. "Seriously?"

"It's not that I don't trust you," Aurora insisted. "It's just better this way."

Her friend made a small, half-believing sound in the back of her throat before sighing. "Alright if you say so. Now tell me everything Queen Betty said about me on the stupid trip…"

~O~

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed! The next chapter will be Aurora and Bucky's date so it will be at least a little more action! Pleaseee leave a review and tell me what you think! It means a lot to me!

Love you all xx until next time


	15. La Masseria

Hey guys! Sorry it's been SO long but I hope you enjoy this chapter! I love Aurora and Bucky SO much.

~O~

Friday finally rolled around and Aurora was equal parts nervous and excited for her and Bucky's date. So far, their relationship had mainly been built on the ridiculous amounts of sexual tension between the two; she wasn't sure how they'd fare on an actual, genuine date. _What if we have nothing to talk about?_ She worried as she dug through her closet. But then she remembered all the times they had stayed behind after their tutoring lessons, talking until the sun was sinking below the horizon and the librarians were itching to go home. It alleviated some of her worry.

She tried on six different outfits before deciding on one; a long sleeved, deep red, silk dress that ended above her knees and cut down at the front just low enough to show some cleavage. It made her skin seem even darker than it was and paired with her favourite pair of pearls and black heels, she was ready to go. They had unanimously decided that it would be safer to just meet at the restaurant, rather than have him pick her up, so he had texted her the address and she caught a cab there.

She got there a few minutes late, but still took her time in the walk to the restaurant. It had been storming lightly that afternoon and the smell of rain still lingered in the air, puddles of water reflecting gleams of moonlight off the sidewalk. Her heels clicked against the cement. She looked a little out of place, if she was going to be honest. This wasn't the most reliable part of town, although it was by far not the worst either. She had yet to experience this side of New York - she was so used to the high end cafes and restaurants that made middle class people remortgage their houses.

At first, she couldn't even find the restaurant that Bucky had chosen. She wondered if she was in the right place but a quick glance at Google Maps told her she was. After a few minutes of wandering - with a few locals side-eyeing her like maybe she was a loon - she finally found the Italian restaurant, _La Masseria_. It was slipped in between two larger buildings, down a small flight of steps and toward the back. Then all of a sudden it opened out into one of the sweetest places Aurora had ever been.

Fairy lights were strung up around the bannisters and the hardwood floors were shiny and clean. It was picturesque, charming. The tables were draped with white tablecloths, a single flower in a vase placed in the centre. It was sparsely populated, with only a few seats occupied. Subsequently, Aurora spotted Bucky straight away. He was already sitting and he looked tense - as he always was - scanning over the space like he was waiting for an enemy attack or some such. But as soon as he caught sight of her, his whole body language changed. His face broke out into a smile and his shoulders relaxed. He stood and she approached him, smiling at the waiter and motioning toward the table when he asked if she needed to be seated.

Bucky was wearing a button up dress shirt that hugged his chest and shoulders just enough to make Aurora wish they were alone. But this was going to be good for them - she could feel it.

There was a single, stomach-twisting moment where she wasn't sure whether to hug him, kiss him or, God forbid, shake his hand but then he was gripping her hips gently and drawing her toward him. She sighed into him as he leaned down and, so gentle she barely felt it, kissed her. A shiver raced up her spine and she rested their cheeks together for a moment, breathing in his smell, masked slightly by a small amount of cologne.

"Hey," he breathed and pulled back. "You look beautiful."

"So do you," she smiled, running a finger over his freshly-shaven jaw.

He chuckled a little, shaking his head. They sat.

"This place is lovely," she said. "I would've never come to a place like this if it wasn't for you." He looked a little put out by that comment for a moment, like maybe she meant it wasn't fancy enough for her, before she quickly righted herself, "I don't mean that in a bad way. I really do think it's lovely. It's nice to come to somewhere a little different. Quiet. It's beautiful."

He smiled and she did too. At first conversation was a tiny bit stilted, but then they ordered their meals and had a glass of wine and they slipped into easy chatter. The food was delicious.

"I've been to Rome, Florence, Pisa, and I think this might be the best Italian food I've ever had," she laughed. "Who knew Brooklyn had such exquisite cuisine."

He half rolled his eyes and took her hand.

By the time they left, she was feeling a tiny bit buzzed from the glasses of wine. He had his arm wrapped around her as he guided her toward his car. "Do you want to uh…"

"Go back to your place?" She finished for him, raising a dark eyebrow. He gulped and nodded. She leaned up, her lips brushing his ear. "Definitely yes," she whispered and felt a shiver run down his back. He cupped her cheek, leaning down to kiss her right there on the sidewalk, for anyone to see. She melted into him, their lips moving together so perfectly that she ached.

"Let's go," he breathed out, pulling the car door open for her and letting her slide in before going around to his own side.

It was a short ride to his apartment and they were kissing desperately before they even got through the front door. He pushed her coat off her shoulders and let it drop to the floor before kicking shut the door behind them. She began unbuttoning his shirt and went to push it off his shoulders but he stopped her, placing his hands over her own.

"What's wrong?" She was panting a little and she noticed his lips were tinged red, just a bit, from her lipstick.

He stilled, looking down, not meeting her gaze.

"Bucky?"

He gulped. "My third year serving, I was on a covert op with Steve and a small select team. We were escorting a high risk target safely across the country. There was a kid. He had a backpack on. I should've clocked that it was a bomb the moment I saw him. But I didn't."

She was frozen in place, trying not to even breathe so she didn't startle him into being quiet. She didn't know why he was telling her this now, but she didn't dare question it.

"All of the men on our team, including the target, died except me and Steve. Steve was fine, thank God, he was furthest from the blast. I put up my arm to cover my face and...the shrapnel…" He trailed off and his eyes looked so far away, like he was reliving every excruciating minute. His hands slipped off of hers and she looked down at his chest to see a small, thin scar poking out from under the material, near his left shoulder. She pushed the shirt off, slowly so he could stop her if he wanted, until it fell to the ground. Her eyes widened.

He was beautiful. She hadn't even realised that before then she'd actually never seen him without a long sleeved shirt on. His chest and stomach was smooth, tan skin and enticing muscles. But his left arm was littered, all the way down to his forearm, with scars. Some were small, little jagged lines and others were thick and raised. One in particular, stretching from his armpit all the way up to the top of his shoulder.

"Bucky…" She didn't know what to say, didn't know how to convey to him that he was literally the bravest person she'd ever met. He couldn't meet her eye and she could see his expression quickly closing off. She reached up and cupped his cheek, tilting his head. "Hey, look at me." He did. And he watched as she slowly leaned down and pressed her lips against the big scar on his shoulder. He shivered, nearly gasping. She trailed soft hands all the way down his arm, her lips following, until she reached his hand, holding it between hers. She brought it up and rested her cheek against his knuckles. It was the most tenderness anyone had shown him since he'd gotten back from war and _God_ it felt nice, especially coming from her.

He let out a long, shaky but relieved breath and brought his other hand up to card into her hair. "I'm so glad I met you," he said, emotion nearly making him choke. She could tell that revealing this to her had obviously been playing on his mind for sometime.

"Me too," she whispered. She let go of his hand to wrap her arms around his neck. She kissed the little cleft in his chin and he ran his hands down her back before picking her up. She hooked her legs around his waist and rested her head on his left shoulder, burying her face in his neck as he carried her toward his bedroom.

He lay her down on the bed, looking at her against his dark sheets, her hair, almost the same colour, fanning out around her. He helped her shimmy out of her dress. She wasn't wearing a bra underneath and he groaned when she lay there, underneath him, in nothing but her little, lacy panties. _Maybe dreams do really come true,_ he thought, only half-cynical.

He went down on her and made her come twice, once using his mouth alone and then again on his fingers.

Her body felt like jelly and her eyes were drooping but she still helped jerk him off and when they were both sated and satisfied, he pulled her onto his chest and she sighed against him as he covered her with the duvet.

She was half asleep, nuzzled into him. "Tonight was perfect, Bucky. So perfect," she murmured.

He hummed agreement, closing his eyes and feeling a sense of peace settle over him. He squeezed her a little, just to make sure she was real. And she was. Real and safe and warm in his arms.

"I can't stay," she eventually said, after they'd been just lying there for at least an hour. "I have to get home." She really sounded like she didn't want to leave and he dreaded letting her go.

"Just a little longer," he requested and she nodded, settling back down against him.

"A little longer," she agreed.

~O~

A/N: Naw hope you enjoyed - if anyone is still even reading this lol - leave a review below and let me know!

Love you all x


	16. Happy Birthday, Bitch

_Happy Birthday, Bitch_

A/N: hello everyone! Yes, it is me. Arisen from the grave. I won't give you a big apology for my long absence as you have all heard it a hundred times, but I am sorry! This chapter was hard for me and sat, almost finished, for months on my computer. But I just didn't know if I wanted to post it/how it would be received. Anyway, here I am. All I can say is please read till the very end in order to understand the whole situation/all the characters real feelings on it. This chapter deals with some potentially heavy (but not graphic) content.

~O~

Aurora and Wanda sat on the hallway floor, leaning back against the lockers in their free period, sharing a styrofoam bowl of hot chips from the fancy cafeteria that charged straight to their parents' bank accounts.

"Are we still party planning tomorrow afternoon at your place?" Wanda questioned, flicking aimlessly through her Psych textbook, not really taking anything in.

Aurora winced - she was supposed to be going back to Bucky's apartment tomorrow after school. "Can we do it this afternoon instead?"

"You have cheerleading practice this afternoon, idiot," Wanda teased. "Why? Did you make other plans for tomorrow? C'mon it's my birthday on Friday - we've sent out invites and we have literally nothing else planned! I mean, playlist, food - what are we going to wear?"

"Ok, ok," Aurora laughed. "Tomorrow, my place. Planning. And shopping, if need be. You need to look hot."

Wanda grinned and agreed.

That afternoon, right before cheer practice, Rora went to Bucky's classroom, which was devoid of any students. He must have had a free last period.

"Hey," she grinned, re-adjusting her bag on her shoulder and leaning a hip against his desk, where he was packing up his things for the day.

"Miss Prince," he tried to hide his smile but she could see it, the small upturn of his lips, the twinkle in his blue eyes. She felt her heart do something weird in her chest, something she hadn't felt before.

"So about tomorrow afternoon…"

He groaned. "Oh no, don't cancel. We've barely spoken since Friday night."

She chuckled, even though she'd missed him too. "I promised Wanda I'd party plan with her. It's this Friday and I can't bail on her."

Bucky sighed, feigning annoyance for a moment. She sidled around the desk, slipping her hand over his for a moment.

"But," she grinned. "I could come over after cheerleading practice this afternoon."

His tongue darted out over his bottom lip for a moment as he looked at her, eyes darker than usual and she wondered if he was thinking about her in the cheer uniform. "I'm supposed to be grading papers, but I think I could make a little time."

"Gee thanks," she joked, rolling her eyes, turning to go. He grabbed her hands, tugging her toward him.

"Yes, I want you to come over this afternoon," he said quietly, like maybe someone was listening even though they both knew no one was. "Obviously."

She brushed her lips over his jaw quickly, feeling him shiver beneath her light touch, before stepping back.

"I'll see you then," she said.

~O~

That evening, after a long and gruelling cheer practice, she sat beside Bucky on his couch, chatting as he marked papers. Hers came to the top of his pile.

"You're going to give me a good grade right?" She grinned, peering forward, her legs resting in his lap. He shot her a look.

"You'll already get a good grade, eco is a breeze for you, but for the record, I'm not fixing your grades just because we're sleeping together," she knew he was serious but his tone was light enough for her to laugh and sit up completely. She brushed her lips against his neck just to feel him shiver beneath her touch. It was a bit of a power trip, the control she had over him. But that was okay, because he had just as much control over her.

"We're not sleeping together," she pointed out quietly, her breath fluttering against his ear.

He gulped and turned his head to look at her, his eyes darting down to her lips momentarily. "Maybe we should change that," he suggested quietly and her breath hitched as he put his pen down blindly and leaned over her, pushing her down against the couch until he hovered above, his hands planted either side of her.

Her body suddenly felt like it was on fire as he pressed down against her, despite the several layers of clothing separating them. One of his hands came up and rested in between her breasts, his thumb swiping over one of her nipples momentarily and making her gasp, arching her back further into his touch. He moved his hand up, over her collarbones and then rested it loosely around her neck, before finally his fingers brushed over her lips.

She pushed her own hands up, beneath his shirt, feeling the ripple of his abs as he ducked down to press a searing kiss against her lips. She whimpered into his mouth, her legs wrapping around his waist so she could pull their lower bodies flush together. He moaned, reaching down between them to pull up her skirt.

And as much as she wanted him to, wanted his touch and kiss and everything in between, she forced herself to place her hands on his chest and gently give him a little push. "Bucky," she murmured. He stopped, moving his hand back to its place beside her head.

"What's wrong?" he breathed.

She gulped on a suddenly parched throat and looked down. "Can we just take a breather?"

His eyebrows pulled down and he sat back as she sat up.

"What you said...about us sleeping together, like actually having sex," she struggled to meet his gaze and hated herself for it. "I just need a little more time…"

He grimaced, taking her hand in his own. "Rora, I didn't mean to pressure you. I'd never want you to-"

"No," she interrupted, her voice more firm this time. "You didn't, I promise. The thing is..I've never…" She didn't know why she couldn't say it - it wasn't even a big deal, really. So she was a virgin - she knew he wouldn't care. Or...would he? With a face like his, she couldn't imagine how many hot girls - no, women - he'd been with, probably experienced ones. Plus, he already had a chip on his shoulder about her being so much younger than him; this just felt like reinforcing that ideal.

But he reached out and brushed his fingers down her cheek. "It's ok," he said. "I know. And it doesn't matter. We've got time."

She smiled at him, her crimson lips curling up so high she felt like her face might crack. She tried to remember ever being so happy and warm and full before but couldn't. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek, cupping his jaw. Then she kissed his lips, smoothing her hand over his chest before swinging her leg over his to straddle him. "Well, there's still lots of other things we can do in the meantime," she grinned sinfully.

~O~

The Stark penthouse was absolutely ridiculous, even by Aurora's standards. Every single thing was modern, no more than a year or two old, and every single thing was big, luxurious and screamed 'too much money to handle'.

Wanda looked gorgeous, in high heels and a tight, long-sleeved velvet dress that matched Aurora's outfit in every way except colour. Wanda was in black whilst Aurora sported maroon.

As people from their grade streamed into the home, whistling compliments and shouting 'happy birthdays', Aurora and Wanda felt every bit the queens they were. Arms linked together, outfits corresponding perfectly and already a little tipsy from a dip into Tony Stark's ridiculously large liquor cabinet, both girls were ready for a night of fun.

Or so they thought.

Betty and her entourage strutted inside, looking around the place and either hiding their awe at the mansion or simply not feeling any due to being raised in ridiculous luxury from the time they were brought home from their private hospital birthing suite.

Betty embraced Aurora and complimented her before turning to Wanda. "Happy birthday Wendy! This party is going to be so much fun. Hope you had a good day," she kissed 'Wendy' on the cheek before floating off, her girls following her loyally. As soon as she was out of sight, Aurora and Wanda burst out laughing, gripping each other as their stomachs clenched and their eyes screwed shut with intense amusement.

"Oh my god," Wanda gasped out. "What a bitch! She totally fucking knows my name!"

"Of course she does," Aurora chuckled. "You, your brother and your foster dad are on the news at least once a month!"

They were still laughing when Kyle Hentley came up behind them and slung his arms around their shoulders. Their giggles ceased, replaced by looks of distinct disdain.

"Hey there girls. This place is pretty mint. Must be quite a change from where you were born, huh Maximoff?" He taunted, hinting at the war torn country the Maximoff twins had been adopted from. Aurora pushed him off, shoving him harshly in the chest, although he barely budged. Wanda stepped back, glaring at him. _If looks could kill,_ Aurora thought. _If only._

"We didn't even invite you dickhead," Aurora spat. "If Pietro heard you spouting crap like that, he'd kick your spoilt ass."

"Oooo," he laughed, rubbing his hands together and sizing her up like she was his next meal. "Pietro couldn't kick shit. Clearly you've already had a bit to drink, huh Princess?" The nickname, a play on her surname 'Prince', was a pathetic and old joke that douchebags at her previous school had been using since the eighth grade. _They're all the same,_ she sighed. _No originality._

"Honestly Kyle, your immaturity is tiring at best and positively nauseating at worst. Your inability to allow others to have a good time because of your own insecurities is pathetic and the fact that you weren't even invited to this party clearly shows that despite you owning the title of Football captain and supposed most popular guy in school, you actually have nothing better to do on a Friday night than show up where you're, quite frankly, unwanted," said Aurora, because dickheads needed to be put in their place. Because this was Wanda's night and fuck _anyone_ who would try and ruin it. "Now either leave us alone or leave the party. It's your choice, future frat boy."

For a few, wonderful and powerful moments, he was stunned into silence. She was pretty sure he didn't understand half of the words she had just used, but she didn't care. She was positive he got the point. He stuffed his hands in his varsity jacket pockets and with a glare at her and Wanda, wandered off into the crowds of drunken, dancing teenagers.

"Thanks Aurora," Wanda said, quietly. Aurora turned to her friend. "You know you're...you're basically the best friend I've ever had. Other than my brother."

Aurora smiled at her and grabbed her hand before she pulled her into a hug, breathing in their shared perfume.

"C'mon," Aurora grinned, a gorgeous, infectious grin. A party grin. "Let's go get drunk."

Two hours, 5 shots and 3 vodka cruises later, Aurora was waiting in line for the toilet, despite the fact that she was pretty sure there had to be at least 5 other bathrooms in the penthouse. But she was too drunk and needed to pee too badly to think about going to find them.

She finally got into the toilet, after waiting for God knows how long, and after she peed she looked in the mirror. Her mascara was a little smudged, but her lipstick was still in tact and her dress only smelled mildly of alcohol and smoke. She looked around the bathroom behind her for a moment, although the world was a little blurry. It was large, luxurious. _Predictable_.

She walked back outside, the clack of her high heels on the hardwood floor drowned out by the bass-thumping music. The hallway, which had been filled with girls before, was now empty. Maybe they'd found another bathroom. Unlucky that happened just after Aurora had waited to pee for a solid 15 minutes.

A shape lumbered in from the main area and, to Aurora's intense dismay, it was Kyle. He was clearly drunk and maybe high, as indicated by his bleary eyes and unsteady gait.

"Aurora Prince!" He grinned. "Just the girl I was looking for."

Aurora rolled her eyes and tried to get past him, but he blocked her way in the narrow hallway, placing a hand on the wall.

"Move out of my way, dickhead," she bit out.

"Look," he said, his voice taking on a serious tone despite the slight slur. "I just want to apologise ok? About what I said earlier, about Maximoff."

Aurora scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest - she could hardly believe what she was hearing. "Well don't say it to me. You should be apologising to Wanda. And do you have to continually use last names? That is so 1980's."

He huffed, taking a few steps closer to her. She could smell the reek of beer on him and she recoiled slightly. "Do you always have to be such a smartass?" he sounded frustrated. "I mean, I'm trying to be fucking nice here."

Aurora glared at him, her lips parted in astonishment at his stupidity. "Oh yeah 'cause you're totally the nice guy. The nice guy that cheats on his girlfriend. The nice guy that calls girls out in the hallway and objectifies them and-"

"You know what, Prince?" He grabbed her arm, tight enough to make her wince in pain, and yanked her toward him. "You need to learn to shut your fucking mouth about things you don't understand."

His grip tightened and she was pressed against his chest. He was tall and muscled and suddenly he seemed...scary.

"Let go of me, Kyle," she tried to make her voice not shake, but Aurora Prince drunk was considerably less effective than sober (or tipsy) Aurora.

"I'm trying to be nice," he repeated, his words more slurred than before. He leaned down and she tried to pull away, but that only served to spur him on, as he shoved her against the wall, knocking the air out of her lungs. His other arm came up to bracket her head, his hand on her arm so tight it was bruising. "Let me just be nice to you ok? Let me make it up to you."

"Stop it," she breathed out, sinking back against the wall in an attempt to further herself from him. It didn't work.

"You know, you're really hot? Seriously," he was just somehow getting closer and closer.

"Get off," her voice was barely there, her throat closing over as panic began to slowly set in.

"Oh c'mon, take the compliment. Girls find it so hard to just take a freaking compliment these days," his breath was on her cheek and it was nauseating.

 _Get the fuck off,_ she wanted to shout, but for some reason she stayed silent. Why was Aurora Prince staying silent? _Why am I so fucking scared?_

Her heart was beating in her chest, hard and fast, pumping adrenaline around her body.

His forehead came to rest against her temple.

Her voice was choked and broken when she next spoke and she would later realise that it was not the alcohol in her system that inhibited her speech but rather the paralysing fear that had taken over her body. "Kyle please I-"

"Shh," he shook his head, his lips ghosting over her jaw and for a second she thought she might actually throw up. Her stomach was twisting in disgust, in terror.

And then everything happened so fast. His whole body was suddenly pressed against hers and his lips were on her own. She tried to squirm away, but he held her tight, kissing her sloppily. She turned her head, but his followed, his grip on her steadily becoming more painful. One of his hands went down to grope her ass, pulling her flush against him. She felt tears she hadn't known existed trickle down her cheeks as she gasped desperately for air that refused to reach her lungs. She was suffocating, slowly and painfully. Drowning in a horrifying sea of monsters that she couldn't begin to understand.

"Hey!" Pietro's commanding voice was a breath of fresh and desperately needed air. "Hey what are you doin' man?" He grabbed Kyle's shoulder and yanked him backward. Kyle peeled away from her, leaving her breathless and tear stained, lipstick smudged and eyes downcast as she panted.

"We're just having some fun, brother," Kyle grinned, clapping a hand onto his shoulder and swaying on his feet.

Pietro ignored him, looking to the trembling girl that was usually so bold. "Hey, Aurora, you ok?"

She couldn't answer. How on earth did he expect an answer? She stood, looking at the ground, her heart in her throat and her stomach dropping by the second. She'd hooked up with Betty's ex. She'd cheated on Bucky.

 _Fuck._

The thought hit her like a train at full speed. _She'd cheated on Bucky and she hadn't even fucking wanted to._

"Aurora," Pietro reached out to place a hand on her shoulder but she flinched away, snapping out of her reverie.

"I-I'm fine," she managed to stutter out. "I just-...I have to go." She stumbled away, down the hallway and back out into the party. She heard someone yell her name and steadfastly ignored it. She needed to do something - she didn't know what. Something.

She needed to go see Bucky. If she was upfront about what happened, if she explained it to him then maybe...maybe…

Maybe she should talk to Wanda. Wanda would know what to do - would know how to talk her down or go and threaten Kyle until he was crying. Something. She scanned the crowds with blurry, tear filled eyes and spotted the birthday girl. She was laughing loudly, a red cup in her hand, no doubt filled with expensive alcohol. She was having fun.

 _This is her night,_ Aurora thought. _Don't be selfish. Don't burden her. Bucky'll understand. Go to Bucky._

Wanda was safety, but so was Bucky. At that moment, they seemed like the only two people in the world that were safe places for Aurora to land.

She swiped up the first bottle of liquor she lay eyes on. She didn't know what it was. She sculled it till she was choking and spluttering and had to slam it back down onto whatever bench she'd grabbed it from.

The effects took a few minutes to kick in, and in that time she managed to stumble out of the penthouse and into the elevator.

By the time she got to Bucky's apartment, she was barely staying upright, leaning heavily against the doorframe as she knocked mercilessly. It had to be nearing 1 o'clock; the city had been quiet in the cab ride over.

~O~

Bucky woke to incessant knocking only an hour or so after managing to actually fall asleep. He had an ability to be awake practically instantly - perks of never sleeping heavily due to his time spent in the military. You were never safe over there, not even when you were in bed.

He was startled awake by the knocking, rubbing a hand down his face. The only person he could possibly think of that would be knocking on his door was Steve or maybe Natasha. But it was 1 in the morning - had something bad happened?

He rolled out of bed and onto his feet before snatching up a hoodie and shrugging it on, zipping it up as he made his way toward his door, which was still being knocked on. He pulled it open and his eyes widened when Aurora was what met him.

She looked like a mess, leaning heavily against the doorframe, her hair mussed and her eyes bleary.

"Rora?" His eyebrows furrowed as confusion slammed through him. _What the hell is she doing here so late?_

"Bucky," she grinned, her eyes focussing in on him. "I missed you." She pushed off of the doorframe and stumbled into him. He could smell alcohol and the faint scent of cigarette smoke on her Versace jacket. He wrapped an arm around her to keep her upright, kicking the door closed behind her with his foot.

"What are you doing out so late? How drunk are you?" He pushed her back, holding her steady, and looked at her face, trying to judge just how smashed she was. The answer lay in the way she giggled, her hair falling over her eyes slightly: _very_ drunk.

"I was at Wanda's party, but she's off having fun and I wanted to see you," despite the fact that she looked like a mess and her words were slurred, she still somehow managed to be the most beautiful thing he'd seen.

"Aurora you shouldn't get this drunk and then go galavanting across the city. It isn't safe," he scolded and she giggled again.

"Galavanting," she mocked, laughing. She leaned in and pressed her forehead against his. "I love it when you say silly things like that."

His heart skipped a little at the word _love_ rolling off her tongue, but other than that he only sighed.

"Come on, let's get you a glass of water," he half carried her over to the kitchen and then lifted her easily up onto the kitchen bench. He went to back away to grab a glass but she gripped his hoodie and tugged him toward her. He put his hands flat on the bench either side of her legs. She leaned up and caught his lips with her own. The kiss was messy and she tasted like vodka, but she also tasted like _Aurora_ so it was still so, so good. And that was why he let her pull him in close between her legs, let her sloppily kiss down his jaw and throat and let her hands slide up beneath his hoodie. However, when they glided lower, down toward the waistband of his sweatpants, he reluctantly made himself pull back, taking her wrists in his own hands and gently pulling them away from him.

"Aurora, you're drunk," he said.

"Who cares?" She mumbled, trying to get closer to him.

"I care," a hint of annoyance seeped into his voice as he stepped back, ripping away from her grasp. "You can't go home like this. I'll get you a glass of water and put you to bed. You're going to have to tell your parents you slept at Wanda's." He turned to grab the the glass out of the cupboard. He began filling it with water when he heard a light thump on the floor behind him. He turned and his grip tightened on the glass. Aurora had let her jacket fall to the floor and was unzipping the tight and _short_ maroon dress that clothed her body. His breathing grew heavy as she shimmied out of the dress. It hit the floor as well and she stood before him in only a bra, underpants and ridiculously high heels.

 _God she is gorgeous_ , for a moment his mind clouded with lust, but then when she walked toward him, she stumbled and fell into him and again he was reminded of just how drunk she was.

He caught her as she laughed into his shoulder. "Aurora...you should not have let yourself get this drunk."

"I don't know," she pulled back, grinning mischievously. "I think it was a pretty fun idea." Then she reached behind her back and went to unclip her bra. Before she could he quickly grabbed her forearms, pulling them down.

"What has gotten into you? Why are you acting like this?" he snapped, although he hadn't meant to be quite that harsh. Her face fell. She stumbled back and leant against the kitchen bench, her gaze trained on her feet. He let out a breath and rubbed the heels of his hands into his eyes for a moment, feeling guilty for being too severe.

"You don't want me enough, Kyle wants me too much," she muttered bitterly, still glaring at the floor like it was her mortal enemy. "I just can't fucking win."

Bucky's eyebrows drew down and he took a step closer to her. "Hold on, what's that supposed to mean? With Kyle?"

Her gaze stayed on her feet and her mouth opened, but no words came out. Her eyes started to fill with tears and Bucky's heart started pounding.

"Aurora, tell me what happened," apprehension was beginning to seep in and it increased tenfold when a tear slipped down her cheek. She furiously wiped it away.

"I didn't-I didn't mean for it to happen...But I was at the party and Kyle was there and.." She trailed off and Bucky's mind immediately jumped to the worst. Had she slept with him? Had she really given up her virginity to someone like Kyle freaking Hentley?

"And what?" He felt jealousy flame through him, hot and painful.

She looked lost in her own head, silently crying, staring at the floor. "We-we hooked up," she finally said. "We just kissed but…"

It felt like a punch to the chest, like someone had knocked the wind out of him, even though he was mildly relieved she hadn't had sex with him. He gritted his teeth. "We'll talk about it in the morning," he ground out. "When you're sober."

He reached out to help her walk to his bedroom, steering her toward it. A sob escaped her mouth and his heart twisted. Did she really feel that guilty over it? That it drove her to tears?

She sat on the bed and he crouched down and slipped her heels off her feet. Then he reached over her to pull the blanket up to cover her. She grabbed his hoodie again and pulled her down to brush her lips against his cheek.

"I'm sorry," she cried quietly into his skin.

He sighed. "It's ok," he said, even though it wasn't.

But then she surprised him by sobbing, "I didn't want to, I swear." His eyebrows pulled down. "I didn't want to.. I tried to.." Her voice tapered off, caught in her throat.

He looked at her. "Rora, what do you mean you didn't want to?"

She sniffled and wiped at her cheeks. "I tried to push him off but he was so... _big_ and there was a wall behind me and nowhere to go and I just-... I just froze."

His stomach dropped and he felt bile rise in his throat. He forced himself to remain calm, to be sure that she was saying what he thought she was saying. "Did he force you to hook up with him?"

Her head dropped into her hands so her next words were a little muffled, although still legible. " _So stupid_. I goaded him at-at the start of the night and then he...He was just there when I was coming out of the toilet and then…" She made a sound in the back of her throat. "I told him I wanted to stop, I swear did, I tried to push him off but-.." She started sobbing. Bucky pulled back, standing up, anger tearing through him like he'd never felt before. He wanted to _kill_ that stupid, fucking, spoilt prick for ever looking at Aurora the wrong way. And when people said they wanted to kill someone they generally meant it figuratively, but Bucky meant it very, very literally. All he could picture was a frightened Aurora, pressed against a wall, whilst bloody Kyle Hentley towered over her, his hands all on her as she begged him to stop.

He felt sick.

"I'm sorry," she cried again and he quickly bent down, cupping her cheek.

"Hey, look at me." He tilted her head up, staring into her impossibly dark eyes, black with mascara. "Do not apologise; it is not your fault. Rora, you can't actually believe I'd blame you for this." On the one hand, the jealousy in him faded as he realised that Aurora didn't actually have an interest in any other guy. But on the other hand, it was replaced by a deep-seeded anger that burned so bright he was tempted to put her to bed, go and get his safely locked away gun and take Hentley out once and for all. It would be so easy - a bullet to the head, steal his wallet and watch to make it look like a robbery gone wrong. Bucky forced himself back into the moment, with Aurora. _Not everything can be solved with violence,_ he reminded himself. _You're not that person anymore._

Aurora sniffled helplessly. He brushed his thumb over her cheek bone and pressed a kiss to her temple and was reminded of all the reasons he _couldn't_ be that person anymore. She mumbled something incoherent, punctuated by a hiccup.

"Shhh, it's alright, we'll talk about it in the morning," he soothed her, easing her back so she was lying down. Another soft sob escaped her lips and he felt his heart twist painfully in his chest. She clutched at him, almost desperately. He sat beside her, running a hand over her head, her arm wrapped around one of his legs like it was a teddy bear, until he could barely keep his eyes open a moment longer. He fell asleep on top of the covers, propped up against the wall, his last thought being that no matter what his girl said the next morning, somehow, Kyle Hentley was going to pay.

~O~

When Aurora woke, it was slowly, her head pounding painfully and her body aching in all the wrong places. Her stomach churned and for one horrible moment, she thought she was going to throw up. She took in a deep breath, let it out. She hadn't thrown up from a hangover since sophomore year - she was _not_ breaking that record now. She slowly sat up, looking around the room. It was Bucky's, she realised with a start. _Why aren't I home? Or at Wanda's?_ Then it all came back, last night's events hitting her like a title wave that increased her nausea tenfold. _Oh, God._ She remembered Kyle's hand on her and then her disaster interaction with Bucky. She felt her cheeks heat in absolute embarrassment and for one terrible moment, she thought she was actually going to cry.

She forced herself to breathe, in and out, in and out. _Nothing is so broken that it can't be fixed_. _I can fix this_. She felt ashamed - she'd gotten way too wasted and if she had have been sober, she almost definitely would have been able to fight Kyle off. Although...would she have? Aurora had a sharper tongue than anyone, but Kyle was tall, muscular. He was captain of the football team for a reason and had muscles for days. Aurora was tiny, even if her personality wasn't. If it really came down to it, even sober Aurora didn't stand a chance against someone Hentley's size.

She forced herself to stand up, looking down at herself, dressed in just her bra and undies. She peeked out of the bedroom, looking around at the empty apartment. "Bucky?" She called quietly. No one answer. She wondered where he could have gone - was he upset with her?

She stripped off and went into the bathroom, turning on the shower before stepping into the heat. She remembered the first time she'd showered here, when she'd been so cold the warm water had stung. When she'd been so scared that only Bucky's arms had offered her any comfort. She felt like that again this time; scared and embarrassed.

She felt better as she stepped out of the shower - clean, although she hadn't quite realised she felt dirty before. She dried off and grabbed one of Bucky's dress shirts, buttoning it up. She was rolling up the sleeves when she heard the front door open and shut. She left his room and found him in the kitchen, grabbing for a glass of water. He was covered in sweat and panting hard in a damp t-shirt and running shorts.

"Hi," her voice was quieter than usual and he turned to look at her.

"I was hoping I'd be back before you woke up," his chest rose and fell quickly as he caught his breath.

She straightened her shoulders and steadied herself. You are Aurora Prince, not a child. Start acting like it. "I'm sorry," she said, voice strong. "For how I behaved last night."

Bucky shook his head. "Aurora, whatever happened wasn't your fault-"

"You're right," she interrupted. "It wasn't. But how I behaved once I got here, how drunk I got. That's on me. I should have slept it off at home or at Wanda's, instead of waking you up in the middle of the night." Her voice dropped a little, her tone softening. "You're just...safe, for me."

He stepped forward and reached out to draw her close before remembering that he was sweaty and stopping. "Aurora, I am always here for you. Anytime of the day _or_ night. You'll always be safe with me."

 _You are not going to cry, you are not going to cry._ She gave him a wobbly smile.

"I'm going to have a quick shower and then we'll talk about this more. Why don't you put on some coffee?"

She nodded and he disappeared down the hall, returning only a few short minutes later as she was pouring the coffee into two mugs. As he walked toward her, he pulled a soft grey t-shirt over his head and she reached out instinctively to brush her fingers over the tanned expanse of his stomach before it disappeared beneath his clothes. He smiled and caught her hand, bringing it up to his lips and kissing her palm softly. And for that one moment, she forgot about everything else. She forgot about everything bad in the world. She forgot about Kyle and school and her parents and the fact that she and Bucky had to hide the way they felt about each other. All of it melted away like snow under a summer sun. He stepped closer to her, placing her hand on his chest, over his heart. She felt the comforting, steady thump of it, even through his shirt.

He leaned down and pressed a barely-there kiss against her temple. "Let's sit down," he murmured, reaching behind her to pick up the two mugs. He pulled back and just like that, the moment broke and the real world resumed.

She pressed her cool hands against her flushed cheeks momentarily before following him to the couch. She settled down beside him, facing him with one leg propped up and pressed against his thigh.

"Tell me what happened," he said. "All of it."

Aurora took in a steadying breath. "At the start of the night Kyle came up to Wanda and I and made some rude comment about where Wanda came from. I put him in his place and pointed out that he hadn't even been invited. Then, later, I was a bit drunk - but not ridiculously - and I was coming out of the toilet and he was just...there," she repressed a shudder, recalling everything that had happened in excruciating detail, although now she saw it all in a different light. She'd really believed that Bucky would somehow blame her for what happened, that somehow it was her fault and that she'd cheated on him. Now, in the light of day, the idea seemed preposterous. "He apologised for being an asshole - kind of - and then when I didn't accept his apology he..grabbed me and pushed me against the wall."

Bucky looked away, his left hand curling into a careful fist.

"I told him to let go - more than once - and to get off of me. Very clearly. But then he started kissing me and.. I tried to push him off but..I couldn't," her voice remained strong, wilful, but her eyes shone with unshed tears.

Bucky suddenly stood up, turning away. He ran his hands through his hair, stress and anger marring his handsome face. He planted his hands on the desk pressed against the wall, his head hanging between his shoulders. After a few, tense moments he forced himself back over to the couch, resuming his previous position. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I'm sorry."

She reached out and threaded their fingers together, holding onto him tightly. He gripped her back, just as hard.

"What happened next?"

"Then Pietro came and pulled him off and I..kind of ran off," Aurora admitted and Bucky tensed.

"Pietro pulled him off?" he questioned and she nodded. He gulped, forcing down whatever jealousy issues he had over her and Pietro. "Thank god he was there."

"Yeah," she agreed. "Because if he wasn't...Bucky, Kyle wasn't going to stop."

"Come here," he murmured, pulling her into his arms. She buried her face in his neck and she couldn't possibly have imagined ever feeling safer than she did in that moment, pressed into his warmth, his strong arms wrapped securely around her.

They stayed like that for a long while, just holding each other. Finally, she pulled back.

"On Monday, we need to go to Principal Coulson," Bucky said. "Kyle has to face the consequences of what he did. He can't just get away with this."

When he saw her hesitation, he added, "I don't care who his parents are or how rich he is. He can't harass and assault girls without punishment!"

"I know, I know," she said. "I agree. It's just...It'll be my word against his. I have to talk to Pietro, make sure he'll back me up."

"Do you think he will?" Bucky looked worried.

"He will. I just need to make sure," she said. "I'll go talk to him today. I want to see Wanda anyway."

Bucky nodded his agreement.

"But Buck, there is one more thing," she said slowly. "You can't come with me, to report Kyle on Monday."

"What? But-"

"Bucky," she interrupted. "You can't. You have to pretend you don't know anything about this! How would we explain it? It'd draw too much attention. We have to keep our distance at school. You know that."

He let out a ragged breath, rubbing his hands over his face. He had a five o'clock shadow going on that somehow made him even hotter than he already was.

"You know I'm right."

He reluctantly nodded. "I just..I don't want you to go through this alone."

"I won't be - I'll be with Pietro," she said, in an attempt to make him feel better, but when his expression tightened and his lips pursed she realised she'd only managed to do the opposite. "But I'll wish it was you," she added. "Always. You."

He reached for her and she crawled into his lap, curling up and just letting him hold her. She closed her eyes. Outside, reality was a mess. But inside the apartment, inside Bucky's arms, Aurora was at peace.

~O~

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I understand that it may be a controversial one. I hope you know my intentions in the middle there (where Aurora blames herself/feels she has cheated on Bucky) are not in anyway intended to victim blame, but rather portray how victims of sexual assault often feel afterwards - especially when they're intoxicated.

Also, in a lot of ways I hate to be using sexual assault as a plot device, however it is such an important and prominent issue and talking about it needs to be more normalised so that victims feel more comfortable coming forward.

Also, I love Aurora and Bucky.

Please leave a review! I do so love to read them x 


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